Max Verstappen was left frustrated with the start to his and Red Bull’s start to the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix weekend, labelling it “a disaster”.
The Dutchman might have felt well-placed to have found himself on the second row in Shanghai, after teammate Isack Hadjar did so in Australia a week ago.
Verstappen, of course, crashed out in Q1 in Melbourne, and was looking to make good on what appeared to be decent pace showed by the Milton Keynes-based squad.
But alas, this was not that case, as Verstappen could only muster eighth place on the grid, with Hadjar 10th.
After the session, the four-time World Champion laid bare the team’s issues, stating that the RB22 is losing an infinite amount of time when cornering.
“The whole day has been a disaster pace wise,” he said. “So 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.
And then, of course, because of that, you start triggering other little problems but the big problem for us is just the cornering is completely out.”
Verstappen was additionally irked when he felt he was blocked by former teammate Pierre Gasly, whose Alpine he encountered on a push lap in Q2.
Calling the Frenchman’s placement of the car “ridiculous,” Verstappen emphasised the RB22’s issues by skidding wide and jumping over the gravel on the Turn 16 run-off.
Gasly was cleared of wrongdoing after a stewards’ probe, leaving the Alpine driver free to start the Sprint Race in seventh place, ahead of Verstappen.
READ MORE – Pierre Gasly handed outcome of Max Verstappen blocking probe in F1 China Sprint qualifying
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