Max Verstappen draws painful F1 conclusion: 'Don't even want to mention it'

Max Verstappen has refused to entertain a discussion on when his next victory in Formula 1 might be.

Verstappen was left despondent following qualifying for the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix, with the four-time F1 champion finishing 1.7s behind pole-sitter George Russell in his Mercedes.

The Red Bull driver will start eighth on the grid for the one-third distance race at the Shanghai International Circuit, leaving him to describe what had unfolded as "a disaster".

Verstappen's overall comments were more than his usual gripes following a poor Friday performance, as have often been heard in the past before a recovery performance on Saturday. On this occasion, the problems he encountered were acute.

"Nothing is working," snapped Verstappen, speaking to Viaplay. "Just no grip.

"The car oversteers, and then understeers again. We just have no grip at the rear, no grip at the front, and a lot of tyre wear.

"So we are lacking downforce, balance in the car, and there is too much tyre wear. Well, those are three very nice things. And that’s not even mentioning the engine."

The problems were so considerable that even team principal Laurent Mekies was forced to apologise to his star driver at the end of the sprint qualifying session.

It raises the question of when Verstappen could win a race this season, but that is a topic far from his mind.

"Let's please not bring that up at this moment, when you are 1.7 seconds behind", he said.

"That is why I don't even want to mention it, because so much still needs to happen on our part to even think about it for a second."