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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has expressed concern over the current situation of his team, who have dropped to fourth in the 2025 Formula 1 standings after a difficult weekend in China. In the sprint race and qualifying, Verstappen could not keep up with Lewis Hamilton's pace, although he started next to the Briton from the front row.
Problems with tires and car performance
The Dutchman faced problems during the entire sprint race, with excessive wear on the front tires, which cost him his position according to McLaren driver Oscar Piastri. Although Verstappen tried to improve his position during qualifying, in the end he failed to finish better than fourth place, and his teammate Liam Lawson had a poor performance and will start last. Verstappen was only 0.176 seconds behind Piastri, who won pole position in very interesting qualifying.
Although he is trying to minimize the damage, Verstappen feels that Red Bull is no longer in the same position as last year. The RB21 just doesn't have the speed to match the McLaren, while the Ferrari and Mercedes look faster. When asked if Red Bull is now the fourth fastest team, Verstappen replied:
"It seems so to me at the moment."
The 27-year-old noticed that the balance of his car changes from lap to lap, and the problem becomes more pronounced during longer stints due to poor tire management.
"Even last year we had big problems here with the degradation of the front tires, but now it is even more extreme," he added.
Max is worried about the loss of performance, especially in relation to McLaren, but also other teams.
"I can't even drive more relaxed, because then I would be an even easier target for overtaking," he concluded.
The Dutch driver did not have similar problems until now, considering that Red Bull dominated from season to season. However, these act as indications of a very different future for the Austrian team. Will he show something else in the next races or is there less optimism?
English (US)