'It's a joke': Max Verstappen at his limit after Chinese Grand Prix DNF

Max Verstappen

'It's a joke': Max Verstappen at his limit after Chinese Grand Prix DNF

Max Verstappen reacts to a disappointing Chinese Grand Prix weekend

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 15 March 2026 18:42

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Two rounds into the 2026 F1 season and Max Verstappen is already at his limit with the new regulations.

Red Bull were once again off the pace of their main rivals Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren in Shanghai, with Verstappen only managing a grid slot of eighth for Sunday's grand prix.

The Dutchman was unable to make up for it in the race however, rather the opposite, getting a slow start and dropping way down the order which meant much of his race was a fightback.

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On lap 45 Verstappen's Chinese GP came to a premature to end, after his RB22 suffered an energy recovery system (ERS) coolant failure, meaning he left Shanghai with zero points.

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Verstappen: This is not racing

Verstappen remained altogether critical of the 2026 cars in his post-race interview, telling the media: "It's terrible. If someone likes this, then you really don't know what racing is like. Not fun at all. Playing Mario Kart. This is not racing.

"Boosting past, then you run out of battery, the next straight they boost past you again. For me, it's just a joke."

Out in front however, there was a battle for the lead between Ferrari and Mercedes, with Charles Leclerc all smiles as he stated he 'loved' the Chinese GP.

Verstappen, as ever, remained dismissive that this was actual racing and said: "It's just Kimi [Antonelli] or George [Russell] winning, right? It's not really back-and-forth. They're miles ahead of the field. It's just that Ferrari sometimes has these good starts, then they push themselves in front, and then it takes a few laps to sort it all out.

"But yeah, like I said, this has nothing to do with racing - and I would say the same if I would be winning races. Because I care about the racing product. It's not about being upset with where I am."

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Chinese Grand Prix