Reigning world champion Max Verstappen conceded that Red Bull's RB21 car is lacking pace this weekend in Shanghai as the Dutchman’s third-place finish in Saturday’s Sprint event confirmed.
Verstappen, who started from the front row alongside sprint poleman Lewis Hamilton, struggled to maintain his runner-up position and was ultimately overtaken by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri on lap 15 of the 19-lap event.
Despite his best efforts, Verstappen acknowledged that his car's lack of speed and tyre degradation issues left him fighting to hold onto third place, while Hamilton powered to his first sprint race victory for Ferrari.
A Promising Start Fades
From the green light, Verstappen shadowed Hamilton, keeping Piastri at bay through the early laps. But as the soft tyres began to grain, the RB21’s limitations surfaced.
By lap 15, Piastri capitalized, slipping past Verstappen into second. The four-time champion couldn’t respond, finishing 7.5 seconds behind Hamilton and just over a second adrift of Piastri.
“I think it’s positive,” Verstappen said, putting a brave face on it.
“I tried to give it a go because I had Oscar behind me pushing, so was trying to keep in the DRS, that helps a lot on the back straight.”
Tyre Struggles Seal His Fate
Tyre management, the day’s defining challenge, exposed Red Bull’s Achilles’ heel. As Hamilton stretched his legs out front, Verstappen’s race became a rearguard action.
“Unfortunately, I think the last eight laps, I would say we just didn’t have the pace to the others, so I was just trying to survive out there, so I definitely take that P3,” he admitted.
“Even the cars behind were catching up quite a lot, so it was tough out there to manage the tyres, but it’s OK. We’ll try to do better.”
The numbers backed up his frustration. George Russell (Mercedes) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), running fourth and fifth, closed in late, narrowing the gap to the top three.
Verstappen managed to protect his position but the lack of outright speed left him exposed – a rare sight for a driver accustomed to dictating terms.
Eyes on Qualifying
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With qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix looming later today, Verstappen turned his focus to solutions.
“We’ll try to make it better,” he said. “We’ll look into the data and see what we can improve a bit on the car, but I think in general, we just lack a bit of overall pace,” he said.
“And then of course, naturally, you have to push a bit harder, you kill your tyres a bit more, so that makes it very difficult.”
The tone was measured but tinged with urgency – Red Bull’s engineers face a tall order to unlock the RB21’s potential overnight.
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