{"id":801482,"date":"2026-07-14T14:47:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T14:47:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/801482\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T14:47:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T14:47:17","slug":"max-verstappens-rear-wing-issue-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/801482\/","title":{"rendered":"Max Verstappen\u2019s rear-wing issue explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before the British GP, Oracle Red\u00a0Bull Racing and Max Verstappen<\/a> had seen results improve, finishing on the podium in two of the previous four races. Sitting in third place with just a handful of laps left at Silverstone, the Dutchman\u2019s race was prematurely ended as a technical issue sent him into the gravel trap. Below is a breakdown of what the fault was and an analysis of how fixing it can change the momentum of the season.<\/p>\n

01<\/p>\n

What happened at Silverstone?\"Max<\/a><\/p>\n

The rear wing has been nicknamed ‘the Macarena’<\/p>\n

\u00a9 James Sutton\/Getty Images\/Red\u00a0Bull Content Pool<\/p>\n

On lap 48 of the British Grand Prix, Verstappen spun off the track, an issue that had previously occurred in Austria, ending his race prematurely. Along the straight before Stowe corner, the Oracle Red\u00a0Bull Racing<\/a> driver used \u2018straight mode\u2019 which causes the flaps on the car\u2019s rear wing to flatten. That’s designed to reduce drag on straight sections of tracks and increase the car\u2019s potential top speed. <\/p>\n

However, Verstappen\u2019s rear wing didn\u2019t close by the time he was turning into Stowe. As a result, he didn\u2019t have as much rear grip as expected, which saw him spin out into the gravel. Oracle Red\u00a0Bull Racing use a slightly different rear wing to some other teams – one which has been called the \u2018Macarena\u2019 by many (originally coined by Ferrari’s Fred Vasseur). Instead of opening slightly, the rear wing flaps flip upside down to maximise top speed. This design does take longer to close than other designs, however.<\/p>\n

\"Max<\/a><\/p>\n

Max Verstappen is keen to find a fix<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Simon Galloway\/Getty Images\/Red\u00a0Bull Content Pool<\/p>\n

After the race at Silverstone, Verstappen said: \u201cWhen the rear wing doesn\u2019t close fully, you lose a lot of downforce and you spin off the track. So, yeah. One time, OK, but two times\u2026 This is becoming dangerous for myself. And obviously, I don\u2019t want that.\u201d <\/p>\n

The problem was similar to the one the driver suffered in the final session of qualifying in Austria. Laurent Mekies, Oracle Red\u00a0Bull\u2019s Team Principal, said in an interview with F1 that it is a \u201cdifferent type of failure,\u201d but one with the same result.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo he’s [Verstappen] right to be unhappy.\u201d Mekies continued. \u201cI have no doubt that, as a team, we will put in place what is necessary for that not to happen again, even if we failed to do that today. It is very unpleasant for drivers to be let down by the car in high-speed corners in two consecutive races.\u201d Thankfully, the team are aware of what happened and are working on a solution. “We certainly understand what happened at the Red\u00a0Bull Ring,\u201d Mekies added. <\/p>\n

02<\/p>\n

Verstappen\u2019s chances in the second half of the season\"Max<\/a><\/p>\n

Max Verstappen was running in third at Silverstone<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Colin McMaster\/Getty Images\/Red\u00a0Bull Content Pool<\/p>\n

Fixing the issue and maintaining mechanical reliability will be vital to giving Verstappen a chance of moving up in the drivers’ standings. He\u2019s currently in seventh place with 76 points, and Mercedes\u2019 Kimi Antonelli is first with 179. If Verstappen had finished third at Silverstone, it would have been his third podium finish in five races. That marks a significant upturn in form, and continuing it could be the difference between getting closer to the top of the table than slipping further off the pace. With the mid-season break coming up in a few weeks, now is the perfect time for Oracle Red\u00a0Bull Racing to put together a sustained period of high-point finishes.<\/p>\n

03<\/p>\n

Where Verstappen sits in the drivers’ standings\"Max<\/a><\/p>\n

Could Max Verstappen make another late-season surge?<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Mark Thompson\/Getty Images\/Red\u00a0Bull Content Pool<\/p>\n

The mid-season point was also when Verstappen returned to form last season. He finished the season just two points behind Lando Norris, taking the championship to the final race. Currently, after the British Grand Prix, Verstappen is 103 points behind Antonelli. Last season, at the same point, he was 61 points behind Norris. Of course, 103 points isn\u2019t insignificant, and there are more drivers to overtake in the driver standings than there were last season, but it\u2019s certainly a deficit that’s possible to overturn.<\/p>\n

Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes – 179 points<\/p>\n

George Russell – Mercedes – 154 points<\/p>\n

Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari – 147 points<\/p>\n

Charles Leclerc – Ferrari – 108 points<\/p>\n

Lando Norris – McLaren – 97 points<\/p>\n

Oscar Piastri – McLaren – 82 points<\/p>\n

Max Verstappen – Oracle Red\u00a0Bull – 76 points<\/p>\n

Isack Hadjar <\/a>– Oracle Red\u00a0Bull – 52 points<\/p>\n

Pierre Gasly – Alpine – 42 points<\/p>\n

Liam Lawson<\/a> – Visa Cash App Racing Bulls – 39 pointsArvid Lindblad<\/a> – Visa Cash App Racing Bulls – 20 points<\/p>\n

Ollie Bearman – Haas – 18 points<\/p>\n

Other teams have also suffered from mechanical issues and form fluctuations in recent weeks. While Ferrari is beginning to find pace, with Lewis Hamilton getting his first race win for the team in Barcelona, McLaren have been regularly inconsistent, and Antonelli finished out of the point-scoring places just this past weekend due to a mechanical issue. If Verstappen and the team can fix the recurring issue and continue their improving form, it will still be possible to fight for podiums for the remainder of the season.<\/p>\n

Visa Cash App Racing Bulls are a team that can be used as a great example of what’s possible if you maintain consistency and reliability. Their strong and much-improved form over the past couple of months has seen both of the team\u2019s drivers finish in the points-scoring places in the last four races. Before that, that hadn\u2019t happened once all season. <\/p>\n

That shows how quickly a team\u2019s form can be turned around, especially when both drivers finish a race. If Verstappen\u2019s rear-wing problem can be fixed quickly, there\u2019s every chance his improved form will continue to kick on into the second half of the season.<\/p>\n

Who is Tom Hopkins?<\/p>\n

Tom is a writer and editor with more than a decade of experience in both gaming and sports. He has been Editor-in-Chief at multiple sites, leading teams at Gfinity and Twinfinite. He\u2019s an expert in all things Formula One, football, EA Sports FC and more.<\/p>\n

Part of this story<\/p>\n

\"\"Max VerstappenAlready considered one of the greatest drivers in the sport’s history, Dutch ace Max Verstappen is now a four-time Formula One world champion. <\/a>Oracle Red\u00a0Bull RacingFrom championship glory to Formula One’s new era, discover the story of Oracle Red\u00a0Bull Racing, their drivers, successes and pursuit of more victories.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before the British GP, Oracle Red\u00a0Bull Racing and Max Verstappen had seen results improve, finishing on the podium…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":801483,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-801482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=801482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/801483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=801482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=801482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=801482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}