Damon Hill thinks Red Bull are now ‘forcing’ Max Verstappen into errors after horror Chinese GP

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Damon Hill has suggested that Max Verstappen is making mistakes he’s never seen before from the Red Bull Racing driver after he retired from the Chinese Grand Prix.

Formula 1’s changing regulations have created a scenario where all three championship hopefuls from last season already appear to be out of the picture this year.

Max Verstappen retired from the Chinese Grand Prix due to cooling issues with his energy recovery system, leaving him 43 points behind early championship leader George Russell.

Is Toto Wolff planting the seeds for poaching Max Verstappen from Red Bull? 🤔

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Both McLaren drivers failed to start the race in Shanghai, but Red Bull will be particularly concerned with what they saw throughout the second race weekend of 2026.

Verstappen’s radio messages didn’t make for pleasant listening, as it was clear he didn’t have the performance required to progress through the midfield.

On top of this, the four-time world champion struggled off the line during both race starts in China, leaving Damon Hill to wonder whether he was actually at fault for any of the problems he’s facing this year.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Damon Hill says Max Verstappen is ‘not a happy camper’ after the Chinese Grand Prix

Hill spoke about the 28-year-old’s start to the campaign for Channel 4 and said: “No, it’s not like the normal Max. I haven’t seen Max in the whole time I’ve seen him racing in Formula 1 make so many errors.

“Although they may not be errors, they may be forced errors by the fact that the car is so difficult to drive because they haven’t quite got on top of their deployment and energy management also.

“So, it’s adding handling problems into the mix as well. So, he was not a happy camper at all.

“But then, he doesn’t like this regulation formula either, so I don’t know, state of mind could come into play as well.”

Some sensational performances in Shanghai 🔥 Who is your pick for Driver of the Day at the Chinese Grand Prix?

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Reflecting on another poor start for Verstappen at the Chinese GP, Hill explained after the race: “The opposite [to Ferrari’s start] that you can see here is Max Verstappen, he does a terrible job getting off the line.

“You can see his head shaking. It’s just something wrong there; it’s not actually getting the thing off the line.

“He ran the softer tyre to get a better start, thinking he would probably get more grip off the line.

“It may have been that there was too much grip, because he’s got the larger turbo, as I said, in the petrol engine that bogged down instead of getting the revs up and getting enough power to get off the line, he just sat there.”

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Max Verstappen’s post-race comments will worry Red Bull more than his retirement

Verstappen was not shy after the race in sharing his thoughts on the changes Formula 1 have made to the regulations this season.

He repeated his comparison to Mario Kart and suggested that anyone who enjoyed the new style of racing were ‘not real’ fans.

Verstappen is on a long-term deal at Red Bull, but a break clause exists that would allow him to leave if he’s not fighting for the championship by the summer break.

Red Bull would need to take several huge strides forward for the 28-year-old to be in contention, especially with two fewer races now available to help Verstappen bridge that gap.

Whether he would walk away is up for debate, but Verstappen is arguably more unhappy now than he’s ever been in the sport, and as one of F1’s biggest stars, it would be a PR disaster if the style of racing is what drove him away.