Red Bull's Max Verstappen is worried his team has slipped to fourth in Formula 1's 2025 pecking order after enduring a sobering sprint race and qualifying session in China.
Verstappen struggled to keep up with Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in the 19-lap sprint on Saturday morning, having started alongside the Briton on the front row, and he was powerless to keep McLaren's Oscar Piastri behind due to excessive front tyre wear.
The Dutchman appeared to limit the damage in qualifying, but still failed to qualify higher than fourth for Sunday's grand prix, while team-mate Liam Lawson drowned and will line up last on the starting grid.
Verstappen shipped just 0.176 seconds to polesitter Piastri in a tight qualifying session, with Mercedes' George Russell and the second McLaren of Lando Norris also ahead.
But he fears Red Bull is now in a worse position than towards the end of last year because the RB21 lacks pace to keep up with McLaren - and the Dutchman believes that Ferrari and Mercedes are ahead too.
When asked if Red Bull is now the fourth-fastest team in F1, he replied: "That's what it feels like for me at the moment.
"I've been feeling really good and relaxed in the car, also in qualifying. I've been able to maximise it, but it's just too slow."
Verstappen says the balance of his car keeps shifting every lap, while over a race stint his car's inferior tyre management is a huge worry.
"Last year we also had a lot of tyre degradation here on the fronts, but now it's a bit more extreme," he added.
"But it's clear we're just not in a very good position, especially compared to McLaren but also the other teams."
Asked if he was still aiming for a podium, he said: "I don't even want to think about that right now. The Ferraris starting behind me also looked quicker in the sprint.
"Our tyre degradation [in the sprint] was better [than FP1] but still not good enough and, if you're talking about a full race distance, that means you're dropping back quite far.
"It's not like I can take it easier either, because then you'll get overtaken as well.
"We changed a few things into qualifying, but I don't think it's going to change a whole lot. I think our deficit is bigger than it was last year."
Photos from Chinese GP - Sprint Race & Qualifying
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