Bernie Collins has heard Max Verstappen complaining about the same Red Bull car issue for ‘years’

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Red Bull still haven’t fixed the gearshift problem that’s been bothering Max Verstappen for ‘years’, Bernie Collins says. Verstappen repeatedly complained about the balance of his RB22 during a wretched Chinese Grand Prix weekend.

Verstappen failed to score a point in Shanghai – his first scoreless Sprint weekend ever. He could only recover to ninth after a disastrous start on Saturday, then he retired from the main Grand Prix.

During Sprint qualifying, Verstappen told engineer Gianpiero Lambiase that his car felt worse than ever. He described the drivability as ‘horrendous’.

Would Max Verstappen be complaining about F1’s 2026 regulations if he had joined Mercedes?

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Red Bull still haven’t fixed gearshift issue despite ‘years’ of Max Verstappen complaints

The gearshifts were one of Verstappen’s main gripes. As Collins pointed out on Sky Sports after Saturday’s qualifying session, he has been complaining about them for ‘years’ already.

The problem has continued despite the overhaul of the regulations, with Red Bull switching from a Honda power unit to their own engine.

“Verstappen in that Red Bull has been complaining about gear shifts for a number of years now,” said Collins. “All through last year, we heard him complaining about downshifts and upshifts unbalancing the car.

Ouch. How long will Red Bull need to catch Mercedes?

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“That’s not new with this engine. It’s worse with this engine, I think it has a worse effect on the balance of the car, but it’s not necessarily a new problem.”

In addition to these problems, it’s said that Red Bull’s car is 10 kilograms overweight. As it stands, Verstappen isn’t expecting to win a race this year, which would end a streak that dates back to 2015.

Jacques Villeneuve says not even Max Verstappen can tame this year’s Red Bull

Collins’ Sky Sports colleague Jacques Villeneuve says Verstappen is now ‘reacting’ to the car because he doesn’t know what to expect at any given corner.

The 1997 world champion said: “The car’s unpredictable. Even last year, when the car was slower, there was some form of balance. He could drive the car.

“He was not reacting to the car, the car was reacting to him, which means you can feel the car, you can set it up, you can get a tenth or two here, you can push harder and it will react. The team know how to develop [the car].

“When it’s like this, we see him always with the rear kicking around. That doesn’t mean he has oversteer. It could still be an understeery car, but at some point, the rear kicks around. It never does the same thing, and he ends up being a driver that reacts to the car.

“When that happens, you can’t set it up, then you lose a tenth here, a tenth there.”

Even Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says Verstappen’s car looks like a ‘horror show’ to drive based on the onboard footage.

Damon Hill has seen Verstappen making more errors than ever, but believes this is down to the car rather than the driver. Teammate Isack Hadjar finished eighth on Sunday, although a spin on the opening lap relegated him to the back of the field.