{"id":811758,"date":"2026-07-19T07:53:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T07:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/811758\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T07:53:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T07:53:16","slug":"mentally-adjusting-max-verstappen-exposes-absurdity-formula-1s-current-cars-at-spa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/811758\/","title":{"rendered":"Mentally adjusting Max Verstappen exposes absurdity Formula 1\u2019s current cars at Spa"},"content":{"rendered":"

The elephant in the room, after we sit and contemplate qualifying for the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix<\/a> now that the dust has settled, is unavoidable: these new-era Formula 1<\/a>\u00a0engines are shameful.<\/p>\n

The most expensive, most complex, yet most ineffective Power Units ever introduced into our sport were embarrassingly exposed at Formula 1\u2019s most splendid venue. Spa-Francorchamps must have been laughing deep into the Ardennes at what it had just witnessed, considering the legends those trees know all about.<\/p>\n

Four to five seconds slower than their predecessors last year, the gap between first and last on the Qualifying timesheets was an astronomical 5.8 seconds<\/a>. Those who conceptualised and rubber-stamped this absurdity should hang their heads in shame and be banished from the sport forever.After Qualifying P2 for Sunday\u2019s Grand Prix, Verstappen – well known for his disdain of the FOM slop we are being served – was prodded by reporters in the FIA-hosted press conference<\/a> about what is required to drive these cars.<\/p>\n

The Red Bull driver needed few words to explain how badly the latest generation of Formula 1 machinery has diluted one of the sport\u2019s greatest circuits. <\/p>\n

Asked how energy recovery affected Pouhon, Verstappen made clear the problem extended far beyond one section: “It\u2019s not only Turn 24. It\u2019s the whole track. It\u2019s a different Spa, but I mentally readjust to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Verstappen explained that the worst comes through Spa\u2019s middle sector, where the hybrid system\u2019s electrical energy has already been depleted. The car carries all its aerodynamic drag while relying largely on the combustion engine.<\/p>\n

Verstappen: Formula 3 power with Formula 1 downforce\"maxverstappen-oracleredbullracingrb22\"\/<\/p>\n

Sitting with Verstappen during the post-qualy press conference were pole winner, Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli and McLaren’s reigning World Champion Lando Norris who was P3 in the session today. They both concurred with the Red Bull driver’s observations.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor most of sector two, you run just on the engine,\u201d he said. \u201cSo what is that? Four hundred and fifty, five hundred horsepower, something like that, which is, I guess, more or less what a Formula 3 car has, but with F1 downforce.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is the absurdity. Formula 1 has created cars with huge aerodynamic capability, yet drivers negotiate Spa with power levels Verstappen compared to Formula 3. \u201cYou can imagine, of course, that that is not very exciting to drive,\u201d the four-time World Champion added.<\/p>\n

The most revealing part of Verstappen\u2019s answer was not the technical explanation. It was the resignation behind it as he resisted launching another attack on the regulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t want to sit here and complain again because probably someone will shoot me outside the door,\u201d said Verstappen who has repeatedly questioned heavier cars, increasingly complex Power Units and regulations prioritising efficiency over spectacle.<\/p>\n

This time, he admitted he had recalibrated his expectations: \u201cI\u2019m mentally just adjusting to it, and I\u2019m trying to make the best out of it, even though, of course, it\u2019s not what I like or what I love to do in Formula 1. But I can also sit at home and drive nothing, and that also doesn\u2019t do anything, so I\u2019m just trying my best.\u201d<\/p>\n

That may be the bleakest verdict of all. Verstappen is no longer expecting Formula 1 to provide the driving challenge he loves; he is merely adapting to what remains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The elephant in the room, after we sit and contemplate qualifying for the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix now…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":811759,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[284885,49,48,578,172888,576,577,1885,7577,82],"class_list":["post-811758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-2026-f1-rules","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-f1-drivers-news","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-max-verstappen","tag-qualifying","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811758","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=811758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/811759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=811758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=811758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}