Why there is no quick solution for Max Verstappen’s frustration

(Motorsport-Total.com) – In many ways, the Silverstone weekend was a reflection of the Formula 1 season that Max Verstappen and Red Bull have experienced so far. During his media round with the Dutch journalists on Saturday, the four-time world champion joked that he must have “driven over a black cat,” as in his view, “simply too many strange things are happening” in 2026.

Read more Why there is no quick solution for Max Verstappen’s frustration

At that time, Verstappen could hardly have guessed that the next chapter would follow just 24 hours later. While he was surprisingly on course for the podium – which he himself described as “completely undeserved” – another problem with the rear wing ended his race prematurely in the gravel trap at Stowe.

It was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. Missing the podium itself did not bother Verstappen that much. It was rather the way the weekend unfolded behind the scenes that fueled his frustration.

A second crash in a row caused by Red Bull’s rear wing – albeit due to two different defects – is one thing. Verstappen rightly called the situation “unacceptable” and “super dangerous.” Unsurprisingly, the FIA has since taken up the matter.

But that was not all. His dissatisfaction had already begun before the race when Red Bull decided against changing the power unit or making deep changes to the setup, which would have resulted in a start from the pit lane.

Verstappen did not just vent this frustration after his retirement but spoke frankly before the race on Sky Italia when asked why his preferred approach was not followed. “You have to ask the team,” was his blunt reply.

“I wanted to start from the pit lane. Maybe they were confident they could fix it – I was not,” the Dutchman added after the race.

Red Bull does not listen to its star driver

Team principal Laurent Mekies later explained that Red Bull simply made a trade-off. The team knew that the power unit and setup were not ideal but believed that Verstappen would have had practically no chance to fight for the front positions if he had started from the pit lane.

And to be fair, that sounds like a perfectly reasonable assessment.

Mekies is probably right in assuming that the chances of a strong result from the pit lane would have been significantly lower, but that is not Verstappen’s main point. Already in Canada, he told the Dutch media in the paddock that the team had not listened to him – back then it was about the setup direction he wanted to take before qualifying.

“I have pointed it out so many times, but sometimes you just have to let them feel for themselves that it doesn’t work,” said Verstappen.

Adding to this frustration is the fact that, according to a report by De Telegraaf, not all sensitive information is being shared with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase anymore – a consequence of his imminent move to McLaren.

This points to small cracks in communication – a discipline that was actually one of Red Bull’s greatest strengths for a long time when it came to turning around difficult race weekends. Mekies, however, reacted calmly and said that such “I told you so” games are even necessary to push the team forward.

A repeat of 2025 seems almost impossible

While the above-mentioned problems mainly require honest conversations – although Verstappen admitted after Silverstone that he was not very keen on that – other issues are much harder to fix.

This applies especially to Red Bull’s pure performance, which in 2026 is simply not good enough.

Second place in Austria gave some hope, but the Silverstone weekend showed that Red Bull is still far from the top – especially on tracks that demand a lot of electrical energy. Verstappen has already warned that Spa and Monza will probably present similar hurdles.

Last year, the summer break marked the beginning of a remarkable turnaround. Verstappen stood on the podium at every single Grand Prix after the summer break. This time, however, a similar comeback seems almost impossible for two reasons.

First, Red Bull cannot fix the deficits on the electrical side of its power unit as long as it ranks at the top in the FIA’s internal combustion engine ranking. This means the manufacturer has no claim to a so-called ADUO token – although such a token is absolutely necessary due to the fundamental (and faulty) design of the system to modify the electrical side of the power unit.

In this sense, Red Bull is effectively checkmated on the engine side and even dependent on competing manufacturers should it ever lose this top spot in one of the future FIA evaluations.

The greatest comebacks in Formula 1 history

On the chassis side, Red Bull has made significant progress with the upgrades introduced in Miami and Spielberg, but everyone in the team knows that this is still not enough.

Read more ADUO: This is how the new catch-up program for Formula 1 engines works

Austria gave hope, but Mercedes motorsport chief Toto Wolff rightly pointed out that Verstappen has always been strong at the Red Bull Ring. Other track layouts like Silverstone have now mercilessly exposed the remaining weaknesses again.

The bad news is that Red Bull’s hands are tied when it comes to further development. While Verstappen joked in Austria that the team might perhaps spend a little less on catering, he struck a more serious tone in Silverstone.

“You have to manage the budget cap. That’s why you can’t constantly bring new upgrades to the car.” At some point, Verstappen knows, Red Bull simply reaches its limit.

All this means that the year 2026 is basically hardly salvageable anymore. Verstappen may still achieve an outstanding individual result here and there, but for the rest of the season, he probably faces another six months of tough work at race weekends – especially since he doesn’t really enjoy the current regulations anyway.

McLaren, Red Bull, or a Formula 1 break?

Looking to the future, Verstappen now has to answer a fundamental question: Which project does he trust the most, unless he decides on a sabbatical year or an early departure from Formula 1? Against this background, it is only logical that Verstappen’s management is looking around the market again.

There is a reason why manager Raymond Vermeulen recently emphasized to De Telegraaf that Verstappen was “not born to race in the midfield.” To the Dutchman’s dismay, that has been the reality more often this season than he would have liked.

Equally logical is that McLaren has emerged as the most promising option given the current situation at Ferrari and Mercedes. No one at McLaren denies holding talks with Verstappen’s camp; instead, they describe them as completely normal – which they really are.

Red Bull wanted to avoid this whole saga by pushing Verstappen to make a public commitment to the team and even tried to buy out the exit clause in his contract for several million euros.

Understandably, Verstappen saw little reason to agree to either demand, as neither was in his interest. Given his current salary, money is hardly the decisive factor. Waiving this clause would mean giving up a large piece of freedom and thus an important leverage.

Not everyone at Red Bull was pleased with these decisions; some even saw it as a question of loyalty. The counterargument, however, is that every top athlete must make the decision that is best for their own career – and Verstappen has already shown Red Bull more than enough loyalty over the years.

Of course, Red Bull has given him all the freedom to pursue his ambitions in endurance racing, but initial signals indicate that McLaren would not be completely opposed to that either.

Secondly, Red Bull has provided Verstappen with the environment in which he celebrated four world championships. That must not be forgotten, but many of the key figures behind this success have now left the team – or are about to, as in the case of Gianpiero Lambiase.

With Rob Marshall, Will Courtenay, and from 2028 also Lambiase, several important pillars of Red Bull have landed at McLaren.

Nevertheless, there are also important question marks behind the team from Woking.

Is McLaren only the best option in the long term?

Currently, McLaren explains that it is being held back for the first time by its status as a Mercedes customer team, while FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem makes no secret of wanting to reduce this dependency in the long term.

This could ultimately prompt McLaren to start its own engine project. Red Bull, on the other hand, already has such a program, which has proven surprisingly competitive – at least on the combustion engine side.

However, this remains a long-term consideration that will only become relevant at the earliest in the next regulation cycle. Verstappen, on the other hand, has to make a decision that primarily concerns the years in between.

For this period, Mekies remains convinced that despite all departures, Red Bull has enough personnel depth (“Strength in Depth”) within the organization – as Christian Horner often put it. In addition, the team’s long-awaited new wind tunnel is expected to be operational next year.

In the short term, the situation is no longer salvageable regardless of the scenario, and Verstappen knows that. In the long term, however, it all comes down to which project feels more convincing and where he has the greatest trust.

That is a question only Verstappen himself can answer, regardless of all the sometimes wild speculation about his future. In the end, it simply comes down to trust: trust in the project and trust in the future of Formula 1.

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