Max Verstappen has endured an incredibly frustrating start to the 2026 Formula 1 campaign with the four-time world champion lingering eighth in the standings. The Red Bull driver started with sixth in the Melbourne opener, which was actually respectable considering he started 20th following a crash in Q1.
So it wasn’t all doom and gloom at the Austrian outfit a week ago, because it looked neck and neck with McLaren for third in the pecking order following a positive pre-season with its new in-house power unit. But then everything unravelled over the weekend at round two in China, where Red Bull was lacking overall pace.
