F1 dealt 'not a good look' criticism after China start mayhem

Carlos Sainz has stressed that it is "not a good look" for so many cars to have failed to start the Chinese Grand Prix, in the latest criticism of Formula 1's new regulations.

Both McLarens, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Alex Albon all failed to start at the Shanghai International Circuit due to various issues, resulting in only 18 cars taking to the grid.

The season-opener in Australia also saw two cars fail to start — Oscar Piastri and Nico Hulkenberg — although the former was due to crashing on his reconnaissance lap.

Sainz has been vocal against F1's new power unit regulations and their complexity, which feature a 50/50 split between electrical power and internal combustion.

What F1 currently looks like is far from what the Spaniard wants, although he remains hopeful that developments and rule tweaks will improve the regulations.

Discussing four cars not starting in China, Sainz told select media including RacingNews365: "For sure, it's not a great look for everyone. 

"I think not having the two McLarens, a Williams, and an Audi on the grid shows how difficult we make our lives by coming up with super-complicated engines with extremely complex software and battery usage. 

"I still think it's not a great look. It's still down to the teams to come up with our engines, but when the rules are so demanding and so constrained, it is very difficult to come up with something reliable, because it's extremely complex for everyone. 

"And I don't know — I have in my mind the ideal Formula 1 of how it should be, and definitely this one is very far from it. At the same time, I'm hoping development and fine-tuning of the regulations will make things better in the near future."