sports
March 14, 2026
‘Every lap is survival’: Max Verstappen reflects on F1 Chinese GP qualifying woe
Max Verstappen condemned his Red Bull’s performance as having reduced his efforts to a matter of “survival” in merely trying to complete a lap in Shanghai.
TL;DR
- Max Verstappen found his Red Bull 'completely undriveable' and described his weekend as 'survival'.
- Setup changes did not improve the car's performance, which Verstappen found to be inconsistent and difficult to drive.
- Red Bull's performance was significantly slower than rivals including Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren.
- Alpine's Pierre Gasly outpaced Red Bull in qualifying.
- Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies acknowledged the need for a '360 improvement' across all areas.
- Lando Norris of McLaren noted a performance deficit, particularly in the final sector and on straights.
- Lewis Hamilton expressed his team's 'hunting and chasing' approach to close the gap to Mercedes, acknowledging a likely deficit.
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