Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Max Verstappen described his Sprint Qualifying performance at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix as a “disaster” after a difficult session for the Red Bull Racing driver at the Shanghai International Circuit.
The four-time world champion struggled with the balance of the RB car throughout the session and ultimately qualified eighth for Saturday’s Sprint race. Verstappen also ran wide at the final corner during SQ2 and briefly went through the gravel while attempting to secure his place in the final qualifying segment.
The incident occurred shortly after Verstappen was impeded by Alpine driver Pierre Gasly, an episode the Dutch driver described as “ridiculous.” Despite narrowly progressing into the final segment of Sprint Qualifying, Verstappen could only secure a fourth-row start for the Sprint.
“The whole day has been a disaster, pace-wise,” Verstappen said.
“No grip. Honestly, I think that's the biggest problem. No grip, no balance, just losing massive amounts of time in the corners, to be honest.”
“Because of that, you start triggering other little problems. But the big problem for us is that the cornering is completely out.”
Red Bull’s difficulties were further highlighted by the result of Verstappen’s team-mate Isack Hadjar, who finished tenth in the Sprint Qualifying classification.
With the cars now under parc fermé conditions ahead of the Sprint race, teams have limited opportunities to adjust the setup. However, further changes will still be permitted before the main qualifying session for the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon.
When asked whether Red Bull could improve its performance during the remainder of the weekend, Verstappen admitted the situation remains uncertain.
“We’ll have a look. I don’t know, at the moment, what we can do. But we’ll see.”
The outcome of the Sprint race and the subsequent qualifying session will be crucial for Red Bull as it seeks to regain competitiveness against rivals such as Mercedes and Ferrari, both of which demonstrated strong pace during the opening stages of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend.
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