Max Verstappen conceded Red Bull didn't have the pace to challenge Sebastian Vettel despite splitting both Ferrari's at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Starting fifth, the Dutchman hung on to the back of the squabbling Prancing Horse's in the first stint and would jump Charles Leclerc having pitted first in an attempted undercut.

Max also got close enough for a lunge on Vettel at the hairpin which just didn't come off, from that point though, his eventual fourth was the best he could have hoped.

 "I think there was not much in it, I was pushing really hard to stay with them, I think as a team we did a good job today, to undercut Ferrari and stay ahead as well," he said.

"We maximised the result. I think every weekend so far is a bit of a guess, what you are doing and how competitive you are as well.

"I had a good battle with Seb, but even after that, you could clearly see that we didn't have the pace to fight, at least I tried.

"It was fun, but I settled for fourth."

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When Verstappen went for the move at the hairpin, there was probably more than one flashback to the collision between the pair at the same corner a year ago.

Vettel though admits he felt the move was coming.

“The race with Max was good fun," he noted. “I saw him coming and the speed delta at the end of the straight.

“Knowing Max, I knew he would try so I predicted that he would go down the inside and he did so I had a moment when I had to open it up.

"I tried to cut back, and it worked. I had a bit of a moment, I had to open the car a bit, but it was good," he continued. "I could nearly get a car length ahead of him and the angle into the last corner for him wasn't very sexy."