“The beginning, it was not easy,” said Verstappen. “I just drove to the pace that we set out to do, but that was not at the same level as the cars ahead.
“The medium was probably a bit more difficult but actually, on the hard tyre, from basically the second half phase, we seemed a little bit more competitive, a little bit more promising at least.
READ MORE:‘It’s like my worst nightmare’ – Norris admits fright over late brake issue in China with Russell closing
“That was at least enjoyable – trying to catch the cars ahead, having a bit of a fight as well.
“I think we’ll take that as a positive, that there is pace in the car at some point. We just need to understand a bit more why it didn’t happen at the beginning and why at the end of the race it was a bit better.”
.webp?ssl=1 "James Hinchcliffe picks his top five drivers of the 2026 Formula 1 season so far")
