Max: Red Bull F1 car "impossible" to drive after getting 'taken out by Mercedes

Verstappen made a strong start from third on the grid, moving up to second on the run to Turn 1.

Valtteri Bottas made a slow start from second, dropping to fifth behind Lando Norris before Turn 1 when he broke too late, hitting the back of Norris, which propelled the McLaren driver into the Red Bull duo.

Bottas, Norris and Sergio Perez were also forced to retire prematurely, while Verstappen continued with considerable damage.

The Dutchman went onto finish tenth, adding one point to his points tally as Lewis Hamilton finished third, to take the lead of the drivers’ championship.

“Again taken out by a Mercedes… that’s not what you want and from there onwards I was missing my whole side of the car – the whole bargeboard area,” Verstappen told Sky Sports F1. “And the floor was damaged as well.

It was almost impossible to drive to be honest. I still tried my very best and I still scored one point so…it’s at least something but of course, it’s not what we want.”

After winning four races in five, Verstappen has scored just one point in the last two races.

He remains confident Red Bull still has what it takes to win its first title since 2013, describing the events of the last two grands prix as “freak moments”.

“No it’s not about [picking yourself up], these moments don't do anything, it’s just disappointing,” Verstappen added. “I know that when we will go again after the break, I’ll be there again and I will try my very best. Of course, I hope my car will be competitive but we will find out.

“There’s a lot of freak moments at the moment which have cost us a lot of points. We will see. Of course, they are very quick but we will never give up. We have to focus on ourselves and we will keep pushing, then see where we end up.”