Verstappen Admits Red Bull Lacked Pace in Shanghai Sprint Race
Four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen has reacted to his third-place finish in the Shanghai sprint race, admitting that Red Bull lacked the pace to fight at the front.
Starting from second place behind Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen held his position until lap 15 of 19, when McLaren’s Oscar Piastri overtook him as the Dutchman struggled with excessive tyre degradation. After the race, Verstappen acknowledged the challenge, saying managing the tyres was tough and that the RB21 is currently missing some speed.
Verstappen: “We Just Didn’t Have the Pace”
Speaking in the post-race interviews, Verstappen explained:
“I tried to give it a go because I had Oscar behind me pushing, so I was trying to stay in DRS—that helps a lot on the back straight.”
“But in the last eight laps, we just didn’t have the pace compared to the others. I was just trying to survive out there, so I’ll take P3.”
“Even the cars behind were catching up quite a lot. It was tough to manage the tyres, but it’s OK. We’ll try to do better.”
Looking Ahead to Grand Prix Qualifying
With qualifying and the main race still to come, Verstappen remains focused on improvements:
“We’ll try to make it better. We’ll look at the data and see what we can improve on the car, but in general, we just lack a bit of overall pace.”
“Naturally, when you have to push harder, you kill your tyres more, and that makes it very difficult.”
Surprised to Start on the Front Row
Before the sprint race, Verstappen was already surprised to have qualified second on the grid:
“The lap was very good. It’s always tough when you go from a medium to a soft tyre and have no references. I mean, it was only 0.018 seconds off pole, but honestly, I don’t think we should have even been on the front row. So, I’m very happy to be second.”
In the end, Lewis Hamilton took the victory in Ferrari’s first-ever sprint race win, marking his first triumph with the team.
