The 28-year-old’s race at the Chinese Grand Prix ended prematurely due to ERS (Energy Recovery System) problems, compounding what he described as a difficult start to the campaign.
Speaking after the weekend, Verstappen admitted he was not surprised by Red Bull’s struggles, insisting he “never saw myself close” to rivals such as Mercedes in terms of outright performance. He made the remarks when asked to explain why the Milton Keynes-based outfit appeared significantly off the pace in China.
“Well, you guys don’t know. I know. I never saw myself even close to Mercedes or Ferrari. But this weekend has been particularly bad,” said Verstappen.
The reality has diverged sharply from pre-season predictions. During testing, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff had labelled Verstappen and Red Bull as the “early benchmark” for 2026, even suggesting they held an advantage of around one second per lap on straight-line speed alone.
Red Bull also showed encouraging signs in Melbourne, albeit with a result that fell short of expectations.
However, the competitive picture has shifted rapidly. Verstappen now hopes the upcoming April break will provide an opportunity for Red Bull to regroup and address their deficiencies.
He added: “I hope that after Japan, of course, we have a few extra weeks to put a bit more performance on the car, but at the same time, others also put performance, right?”
The pause in the calendar follows the cancellation of both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, events called off due to the ongoing US-Iran conflict.
