Max Verstappen 'all over the place' in extraordinary accusation

Max Verstappen is "all over the place", according to 1997 F1 drivers' champion Jacques Villeneuve, who does not believe the Dutchman is in the "right mental space" at the moment.

The Red Bull driver is suffering through a painful Chinese Grand Prix weekend, missing out on points in the sprint after a difficult qualifying session and a messy one-third distance race itself.

Having lined up eighth on the grid for the 19-lap contest, the 28-year-old bogged down at the start, tumbling down the order to P20.

Whilst he was able to recover to ninth by the chequered flag, it left him pointless and losing further ground to the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers.

Red Bull has proven in the past that it is capable of turning around F1 weekends, with the biggest points still on offer in the full-distance grand prix at the Shanghai International Circuit.

However, Villeneuve cannot see that happening this time around, casting doubt on Verstappen's ability to get his head around the troublesome RB22.

"Not really, because last year they had the car that was responding to Max and his driving style," the Canadian replied on Sky Sports F1 when asked whether Red Bull can transform its fortunes over the rest of the round.

"Maybe it was a little bit off the pace, but they could fine-tune it. Right now, he's all over the place.

"He has no feedback. He doesn't know... he just knows the car is undrivable. He doesn't know what to do with it, and he's frustrated.

"So he's not even in the right mental space, so it will be very tough for the team to move forward."

Villeneuve's unpopular opinion

Contrary to the widespread view that things are improving at the Milton Keynes-based squad under the leadership of new team principal Laurent Mekies, Villeneuve highlighted the vast rates of change experienced within the six-time constructors' champions over the past 12 months.

"But, you know, the team has changed," the 11-time grand prix winner added.

"They've lost three of their head guys: [Adrian] Newey, [Christian] Horner and Helmut Marko, and those were the pillars of the team. So maybe they're starting to pay the price for that."

When Jamie Chadwick suggested Red Bull could be at risk of losing Verstappen if it cannot turn things around, Villeneuve underlined how new this experience is for the four-time F1 drivers' champion.

"I think results are only a part of it," he said. "Max doesn't feel he has a car that he can drive or that he can do whatever he wants with it.

"So even when he was a bit off the pace, but the car was responding, he was happy; he knew he could fight. Now, the car doesn't respond, and that's the first time since he started F1."