During pre-season testing, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff claimed that Verstappen and Red Bull were the 'early benchmark' heading into 2026, claiming the Milton Keynes-based team were a second faster per lap on straight line speed alone.

However, following a nightmare Sprint weekend in Shanghai, where Verstappen scored zero points and retired due to ERS problems, the four-time world champion said he "never saw myself close" to the Silver Arrows on performance.

Speaking to media, including GPblog, Verstappen was asked to explain why Red Bull were so far off the pace in China, having appeared to be in a decent place in pre-season and achieving a respectable, if disappointing, result in Melbourne.

Verstappen said: "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."

He was then asked whether he thought China was representative of where Red Bull really are in the pecking order: "I hope not. But I don't know, it's impossible to say."

The Dutchman was later quizzed on Wolff's 'early benchmark' comments in Bahrain, and chose to brush them off much in the same way he did at the time.

"For me, it's not a surprise that we are not close to Mercedes or Ferrari or McLaren.

The 28-year-old also hopes Red Bull can use the April break, a consequence of the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia races amid the US-Iran conflict, to find performance.

Elsewhere, the Red Bull driver has been met with some harsh criticism over his own complaints about the 2026 F1 rules, which only intensified following the Chinese GP weekend.

Former Haas boss Guenther Steiner is the latest to take aim at Verstappen, claiming he "throws the toys out the pram" when things don't go his way.

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