The Verstappen data that is an early Chinese GP warning

The major question mark heading into the Chinese Grand Prix was how would the Pirelli tyres hold up in the 19-lap Sprint race. 

The entire Shanghai International Circuit has been resurfaced since the 2024 race, meaning the new layer of asphalt provides tremendous grip but also eats away at tyre life.

For the first Sprint race of 2025, the medium tyre was the preferred compound, giving the teams an interesting insight into how the tyre would behave in Sunday's grand prix.

During the Sprint, Max Verstappen, who is our case study, found himself tucked up behind Lewis Hamilton, unable to get within striking range to overtake and become in clean air. 

Verstappen mounted an attack about half-way through, but quickly fell away into the clutches of Oscar Piastri.

The duo had a brief, but intense battle ending with the Australian nipping through for second with a move on the brakes at Turn 14 - the hairpin.

But both had destroyed their tyres, whilst Hamilton cackled away with a simple run to victory. 

But that drop-off in tyre performance from Verstappen especially should be a cause for concern up and down the paddock. 

Verstappen's times slipped to the low 1:39s at one point, nearly two seconds slower than Hamilton's worst of a 1:38. Pirelli even believes a three-stop is possible in the race, with the undercut set to be extremely powerful. 

Check out the race times from the sprint race in China below. The text continues after that.

Qualifying

As for qualifying later in the day, as the graphs below show, Verstappen was also lacking against pole-sitter Piastri in the traction zones and getting out of the corners.

Only through Turn 6 of the heavy traction zones was Verstappen faster than Piastri, with the McLaren accelerating far better than the Red Bull. 

But the Red Bull picks up more speed with the DRS, finding 34kph when the flap opened compared to just 16 for McLaren.

With overtaking tricky as usual in Shanghai, that extra 16kph could be crucial in the race if stuck behind a posse of slower cars.

It should also help Liam Lawson with his rise from 20th and last following another dismal performance.

Check out the differences between Verstappen and polesitter Piastri in qualifying below!