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Max Verstappen explodes: very harsh outburst from the'Dutchman

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Max Verstappen is going through a difficult time: his car does not satisfy him and in these early stages of the championship he has repeatedly said that he cannot express himself to the fullest. At Shanghai, in Sprint qualifying, it was no different than in the very recent past: the’Dutchman was unable to drive as he would have liked, confirming even worse sensations than in Australia, where he had nevertheless managed to recover in the race from 20th to sixth place.

On the Chinese circuit, the four-time world champion did not go beyond eighth place, but more than the grid box itself rattles the gap to George Russell, which is close to two seconds (1″734 to the thousandth). Jos’s son also placed behind Pierre Gasly’s Alpine, thus confirming Red Bull’s difficulties. It was a whirlwind of negative emotions for Verstappen, who over the radio vented all his frustration to track engineer Lambiase’and team principal Mekies.

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Lance Stroll (Aston Martin): $12 million. The Canadian driver is in his sixth season with the British team
Alex Albon (Williams): $12 million. The Thai is in his fifth consecutive year at Williams
Pierre Gasly (Alpine): $12.5 million. The French driver moved to Alpine in 2023
Oscar Piastri (McLaren): $13 million. The'Australian finished third last season
Carlos Sainz (Williams): $13 million for the'former Ferrarista, at Williams since last season
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin): $20 million. The Spanish two-time world champion driver is the most experienced on the grid
Lando Norris (McLaren): $30 million. The world champion is only fifth in this special ranking
George Russell (Mercedes): $34 million. The British driver goes after his first world title this season
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): $34 million. The Monegasque wants to break the curse of the Italian stable, which has not won a drivers’ title since 2007
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari): $60 million. After last season’s disappointments, the British driver wants to redeem himself
Max Verstappen (Red Bull): $70 million. Lavish contract for the four-time world champion, who in 2025 finished second

“I can’t do it, this car is unrideable– said, without hiding, Max Verstappen -. We have never had to deal with something like this”. Strong words, which even led Laurent Mekies to apologize: “It was hard Max, we are sorry. There is a lot to figure out and the weekend is still long, we have to draw as many indications as possible. We will try again”. The smiles and ironies in the press conference thus turned into anger and frustration for the Dutchman, who cannot express himself as he would like.

Verstappen’s teammate is also struggling: In fact, Isack Hadjar set the 10th fastest time in Sprint qualifying. The French driver himself, in the press conference, had explained that Red Bull at the moment must consider itself the fourth force in the championship, behind Mecedes, Ferrari and McLaren. However, Hadjar himself had said that the Chinese weekend would be important beyond the result, to better understand the management of the electrical part of the power unit, an important aspect for the new era of Formula 1 single-seaters.

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