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Max Verstappen arrived at Silverstone already knowing what was coming. Simulator work ahead of the weekend had already given him a clear picture of how the 2026 power unit regulations would hurt Red Bull at Silverstone, and qualifying for the British Grand Prix proved those fears well-founded. Verstappen wound up seventh on the grid, two places behind teammate Hadjar in fifth, with his lap time falling 0.782 seconds short of Antonelli’s pole-setting effort.
The 2026 regulations route roughly half of a car’s peak power through the hybrid battery system, which works well enough when a circuit gives drivers plenty of heavy braking zones to replenish the charge. Silverstone’s layout tells a different story – its high-speed, sweeping nature offers little opportunity to shed speed and replenish energy, leaving the battery depleted well before the car crosses the finish line, a problem Verstappen had already raised openly ahead of the event.
Verstappen was clearly annoyed in his post-qualifying assessment, and the picture he painted wasn’t encouraging for Sunday. “It just wasn’t working. There was no balance in the car, but on the other hand, we were also very slow on the straights. On my side of the garage, we’re simply slower everywhere. And when you’re slow on the straights, you also use up your battery more. You can see it everywhere, but especially in the final sector. At a certain point, you don’t have any battery left, and then nothing works anymore.”
What makes the situation more troubling is that the deficit appears to have no obvious fix heading into the race.
“There’s a problem on our side that we can’t find in the engine. That’s also a big question mark for me heading into the race – what we need to do. This just isn’t acceptable. It’s just not performing. That’s the problem. You simply lose time on every straight, and it all adds up. In terms of balance, it’s the same issue – we’re not making any progress at all.”
That language – “can’t find,” “not making any progress” – is strong coming from a four-time world champion who currently sits ninth in the standings. The Austrian Grand Prix had offered a brief reprieve; an upgrade package helped Verstappen finish second at the Red Bull Ring, his best result of 2026, and he described it as the first weekend where he genuinely felt capable of fighting for a win. Silverstone has wiped most of that optimism out in a single qualifying session.
Ferrari and Mercedes locked out the top four, with Antonelli on pole ahead of Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, and George Russell. Hamilton had already noted before the weekend that the drivers’ group chat had been busy with warnings about Silverstone’s power demands. The session result bore that out – McLaren‘s Lando Norris slotted into sixth, with Oscar Piastri eighth, both of them also struggling to keep pace with the front two teams.
Verstappen’s frustration with the 2026 energy formula is well documented. Earlier in the season he compared the battery depletion battles to Mario Kart and suggested he would consider walking away from the sport if the regulations weren’t addressed. That pressure contributed, at least in part, to F1’s decision to reduce the battery’s share of peak power output from roughly 50% down to 42% for 2027. That change doesn’t help him at Silverstone this weekend, where the race will take place across 52 laps of the 5.891km circuit.
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The 2026 regulations route roughly half of a car’s peak power through the hybrid battery system, which works well enough when a circuit gives drivers plenty of heavy braking zones to replenish the charge. Silverstone’s layout tells a different story – its high-speed, sweeping nature offers little opportunity to shed speed and replenish energy, leaving the battery depleted well before the car crosses the finish line, a problem Verstappen had already raised openly ahead of the event.
Red Bull’s Right-Side Problem Is Getting Hard to Ignore
Verstappen was clearly annoyed in his post-qualifying assessment, and the picture he painted wasn’t encouraging for Sunday. “It just wasn’t working. There was no balance in the car, but on the other hand, we were also very slow on the straights. On my side of the garage, we’re simply slower everywhere. And when you’re slow on the straights, you also use up your battery more. You can see it everywhere, but especially in the final sector. At a certain point, you don’t have any battery left, and then nothing works anymore.”
What makes the situation more troubling is that the deficit appears to have no obvious fix heading into the race.
“There’s a problem on our side that we can’t find in the engine. That’s also a big question mark for me heading into the race – what we need to do. This just isn’t acceptable. It’s just not performing. That’s the problem. You simply lose time on every straight, and it all adds up. In terms of balance, it’s the same issue – we’re not making any progress at all.”
That language – “can’t find,” “not making any progress” – is strong coming from a four-time world champion who currently sits ninth in the standings. The Austrian Grand Prix had offered a brief reprieve; an upgrade package helped Verstappen finish second at the Red Bull Ring, his best result of 2026, and he described it as the first weekend where he genuinely felt capable of fighting for a win. Silverstone has wiped most of that optimism out in a single qualifying session.
Ferrari and Mercedes locked out the top four, with Antonelli on pole ahead of Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, and George Russell. Hamilton had already noted before the weekend that the drivers’ group chat had been busy with warnings about Silverstone’s power demands. The session result bore that out – McLaren‘s Lando Norris slotted into sixth, with Oscar Piastri eighth, both of them also struggling to keep pace with the front two teams.
Verstappen’s frustration with the 2026 energy formula is well documented. Earlier in the season he compared the battery depletion battles to Mario Kart and suggested he would consider walking away from the sport if the regulations weren’t addressed. That pressure contributed, at least in part, to F1’s decision to reduce the battery’s share of peak power output from roughly 50% down to 42% for 2027. That change doesn’t help him at Silverstone this weekend, where the race will take place across 52 laps of the 5.891km circuit.
Continue reading...
