Red Bull accused of putting Max Verstappen in a ‘dangerous’ situation with 2026 start glitches

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Max Verstappen’s slow race starts at Red Bull are ‘dangerous’, according to ex-F1 driver Christian Klien. Verstappen haemorrhaged places during both races at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Verstappen qualified eighth for both the Sprint and the Grand Prix but he lost a combined 11 positions on the opening laps, dropping to 14th on Saturday and 13th on Sunday.

He couldn’t fight his way back into the points in the shorter race, and further car trouble saw him retire from the race. Laurent Mekies confirmed that a ‘coolant problem’ was to blame for the DNF.

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

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Max Verstappen left ‘powerless’ by slow starts at Red Bull

Speaking on ServusTV, former Red Bull driver Klien said there is a ‘fundamental’ problem with the RB22 on the starting grid. Getaways have been inconsistent across the field, partly due to battery shortages at the end of the formation lap.

Having taken the lead from the second row at every opportunity, Ferrari are resisting a rule change that would allow teams to harvest more energy before the start.

Franco Colapinto produced the ‘save of the season’ to avoid a bogged-down Liam Lawson in Australia, and Klien says it’s ‘dangerous’ for drivers to be crawling off the line. GPDA director Carlos Sainz has warned that the speed differences could lead to a big accident.

• READ MORE: How Liberty Media press officer reacted as Max Verstappen ‘badmouthed’ F1 rules in China

“The revs dropped completely at the start,” said Klien. “That is a fundamental problem. There is so much new technology in these cars. It wasn’t a driver error by Max.

“With this new generation of cars, the rule is: if something goes wrong technically, you are powerless as a driver. Your hands are tied.

“That is simply dangerous.”

Max Verstappen’s radio message after Chinese Grand Prix start

During the formation lap, Gianpiero Lambiase warned Verstappen not to let the engine revs drop too low and reminded him about using the boost button. But Red Bull’s investigation after the Sprint clearly didn’t identify the root of the problem.

“I’m sorry, but that’s just a p—take, to be honest,” Verstappen said after dropping into the midfield, but Lambiase offered no reply.

Verstappen complained about gearshifts and drivability earlier in the weekend, when he described the car as the worst it has ever been. Jacques Villeneuve says the four-time world champion is having to react to the unpredictable RB22 corner-by-corner.

He will head to Japan eighth in the championship with just eight points on the board, putting him level with Racing Bulls driver Lawson. It’s his worst start to a season since 2018, when he also finished P6 in Australia before retiring from round two.