It was clear that Verstappen was not going to be able to continue, with the 26-year-old bringing a premature end to his race by pulling into the Red Bull garage. He was then involved in a frosty exchange with engineer Paul Monaghan as he tried to come to terms with the unfortunate manner of his retirement.

Verstappen was spotted in deep conversation with a Red Bull colleague and could be heard saying "f***ing stupid" before putting his hands on his head and storming away. After a few minutes, he emerged from the garage after getting changed out of his race suit and was seen chatting with Christian Horner on the pit wall.

The reigning world champion dominated the opening two races of the new season with emphatic victories in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia but was helpless to prevent his latest mechanical problem from ending any hopes of making it a hat-trick. It marked his first retirement since 2022 when he suffered a critical fuel issue at that year's Australian Grand Prix.