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Max Verstappen has described Toro Rosso's Renault engine as "a bit of a nightmare" that could jeopardise the team's goal of fifth in the 2015 Formula 1 constructors' championship.

Verstappen has now retired from three of his first four grands prix with mechanical problems.

At its launch, Toro Rosso declared fifth in the standings was a realistic ambition for this season. It is currently joint sixth with Lotus, with Force India a point behind.

"I think the car is capable of [fifth], it is just the thing behind the car which is a bit of a nightmare," Verstappen told AUTOSPORT.

"I'm not going to lie about that, I think everybody can see that.

"You could see that with [Daniel] Ricciardo, he made some fireworks at the finish [when his engine failed]."

Verstappen had struggled to make progress from 15th on the grid in Bahrain as suspected electrical problems forced him to run with reduced power.

The 17-year-old retired the car after 34 laps for fear of losing the engine.

A week earlier, he had lost a points finish with four laps to go in China when his Renault power unit failed.

"The whole race I was already having problems with the engine," Verstappen said of his Sakhir experience.

"After the first pitstop, I had to go into safe mode. I had no power basically.

"I was losing a lot of power on the straights.

"It was just a mess. I was like a sitting duck to everyone.

"At one point I was driving alone waiting to get lapped."