One week after finishing second in Austria – where Max Verstappen might even have been able to win with a different strategy – the picture looks considerably bleaker this weekend.
During qualifying at Silverstone, Verstappen was hampered by a power unit issue, but even without that problem he believes Red Bull simply lacks the pace to compete at the front as he could only lift the RB22 to seventh on the grid.
Whereas after the Austrian Grand Prix Verstappen was even asked in the FIA press conference whether another title fight was still possible, given last year’s comeback, his response in the Silverstone paddock was brief: “They shouldn’t ask me that question anymore.”
The Red Bull Ring has traditionally been one of Verstappen’s strongest circuits, but according to the Dutchman Silverstone does not suit either the Red Bull car or the Red Bull power unit.
It is one of the so-called energy-starved circuits in 2026, where energy management plays an even bigger role than usual.
“We’re not very good on those tracks, when it’s like that,” Verstappen admitted. “Plus, I think this weekend, the car balance has not been great.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
That means Verstappen is also expecting Red Bull to struggle at several other circuits later this season: “Spa will basically be the same, and Monza as well. That’s a shame because Spa is obviously one of my favourite tracks. But it’s going to feel very different this year.”
That is naturally down to energy management, something that also became apparent at Silverstone with the return of the much-discussed yo-yo racing.
Verstappen’s opinion on the matter is clear, although he has no interest in repeating it over and over again: “That’s just how Formula 1 is at the moment. There’s not much you can do about it. I’m mainly looking forward to going home again.”
When it was suggested during his Dutch media session that he is probably looking forward to the summer break as well, Verstappen laughed: “Yes, but the summer break isn’t long enough!”
Another comeback like last year impossible for Red Bull?
Last year, Red Bull staged a remarkable comeback after the summer break, one that almost resulted in Verstappen’s fifth world title. This time, however, he is not expecting history to repeat itself.
“You also have the cost cap to deal with. Because of that, you can’t keep bringing a lot of upgrades to the car,” Verstappen explained. “We’ll keep evaluating things race by race, but once again, on tracks where you’re heavily limited in terms of energy management, we seem to struggle more.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
Besides the lack of outright performance, Verstappen also feels Red Bull has suffered an unusual amount of bad luck this season.
In addition to Saturday’s power unit issue, a rear wing problem in Austria contributed to his Q3 crash. In Australia, Verstappen also suffered a crash that he could not immediately explain, while in Monaco he had to retire from second on the grid because of another power unit issue.
Verstappen has already explained that these setbacks hurt less than they would if he was fighting for the world title, but he is still surprised by the amount of misfortune in 2026 – something that also followed him during the Nurburgring 24 Hours when his car hit mechanical trouble while leading in the closing stages.
“It’s almost like I’ve hit a black cat,” he said. “I don’t know what’s causing it. But I’m not very superstitious, so it’ll probably get better at some point.”
We want to hear from you!
Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.
Take our survey
– The Autosport.com Team
Read the full article here