Verstappen downbeat after 'particularly bad' Red Bull weekend
"Getting on top of our problems is not easy," Verstappen said in Shanghai, having been sixth in the season-opening race in Melbourne.
"It would help if we would just have a normal start -- I've been every time dropping to last," he added.
The Dutchman was called by his engineer on team radio and told to retire his car on lap 46 because of a cooling issue, but he wasn't the only driver to suffer.
Four drivers failed even to start in China, including world champion Lando Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri in their McLarens.
Three others, including Verstappen, failed to finish an attritional race that exposed the complexities facing teams under sweeping new regulations.
"You can see that all over the grid," he said.
"I mean, some cars are not even starting. So yeah, it's all very complicated."
The Red Bulls are struggling for pace and grip, seeming to experience greater tyre degradation than their rivals.
Verstappen trailed home ninth in Saturday's sprint and teammate Isack Hadjar was 10th.
It was the first time Red Bull had ever failed to score points in a sprint race.
"I know the team are doing everything they can. They give it everything. And that's always the painful part, right? Because I know that they can do it," said Verstappen.
"But at the moment we are just not where we want to be. There are more problems than we expected."
The Formula One season moves to Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix in a fortnight's time.
The subsequent two races in the Middle East have been cancelled because of the war, meaning there will be a five-week gap before Miami in May.
"After Japan, you know, we have a bit of a bigger break now, hopefully there we can make some good steps," said Verstappen.
Hadjar was the lone Red Bull finisher in Sunday's grand prix, but his eighth place for just three championship points was way below the once-dominant team's expectations.
"The Chinese Grand Prix proved to be a very tough event for us from Friday onwards," said team principal Laurent Mekies.
"Being on the back foot at the start of a sprint weekend is the worst possible scenario as there is really little time to catch up and get on top of any difficulties."