Max Verstappen says tyre degradation, deployment a concern for Red Bull ahead of Chinese Grand Prix

The Dutchman suffered from a bizarre snap in Q1, which sent him spinning into the gravel trap, ruling him out from further running.

In the race, he made his way up the order but failed to pass Lando Norris for fifth towards the end of the race, blaming tyre degradation.

Looking ahead to this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, running under Sprint format, Verstappen said: "It was good to be back racing again, and it was promising to see us have a good comeback in the race.

"The Team did a great job to get to where we are, but there is still a lot to do and a lot of learnings that we can take on from that race.

We were particularly impacted by the tyre degradation in Melbourne, which can also be an issue at this circuit in Shanghai, and the deployment is something we can look at as well," the four-time Formula 1 Champion pointed out. "We will continue to collect data and work on improving the car; we are still learning, and we want to go into this week and be more in the fight.

"Of course, it is a Sprint weekend so we will have less time to work on the setup of the car, so we need to make sure we hit the ground running. The circuit is pretty unique, with quite a challenging track layout with a variety of different corners but with plenty of opportunities for overtaking.

Isack Hadjar started his weekend in Melbourne with a respectable third place in qualifying, but then his RB22 called it a day on Lap 11 of the Grand Prix.

The Frenchman reflected: "Making my debut for the Team in Melbourne was a special moment for me, and Saturday was the perfect start.

"Unfortunately, the weekend didn't end how we wanted it to, but we're motivated to come back stronger this week in Shanghai.

"I want to put in a good display across the weekend and continue to test myself against the very best.

"With a Sprint weekend you have even more opportunities to deliver strong performances, and that's what I'll set out to do," Hadjar.