Max Verstappen OUT of F1 Chinese Grand Prix after being lapped

Chinese Grand Prix

Max Verstappen OUT of F1 Chinese Grand Prix after being lapped

Sighs...another disaster for Max Verstappen

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 15 March 2026 09:29 Updated: 12:48

Max Verstappen's Chinese Grand Prix went from bad to worse after the F1 champion was forced to retire his Red Bull during the closing stages of Sunday's race.

The Dutchman became the seventh driver to retire in Shanghai with what appeared to be technical issues. Instead of stopping out on track, Verstappen managed to make it back to the pitlane and returned his car to the Red Bull garage.

Verstappen was running in sixth after a difficult start to the Chinese GP, where he dropped down to P14 on the first lap, and was eventually lapped by the Mercedes in the lead.

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The issue comes after a testing opening two rounds, that Verstappen himself has aired his frustrations over, making a Q1 exit in Melbourne and only qualifying eighth on the grid for the Chinese GP.

Why did Verstappen DNF from Chinese GP?

Verstappen joined the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, who both retired from the Chinese GP.

Meanwhile, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Gabriel Bortoleto and Alex Albon all failed to even start the race, with the Australian star yet to complete a grand prix lap in 2026.

McLaren's issues were both separate electrical problems in relation to the Mercedes PU.

Verstappen confirmed after the race that his RB22 suffered an energy recovery system (ERS) coolant failure.

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Chinese Grand Prix