Why there are no quick fixes for all of Verstappen’s frustrations at Red Bull

In many ways, the Silverstone weekend summed up the Formula 1 season that Max Verstappen and Red Bull have experienced so far.

During his Dutch media session on Saturday, the four-time world champion joked that he might have run over "a black cat", given that, in his view, "far too many strange things are happening" in 2026.

At that point, Verstappen could hardly have known that another chapter was about to unfold just 24 hours later. While he surprisingly appeared to be on course for a podium finish – something he himself described as "completely undeserved" – another rear wing issue ultimately sent him off the track at Stowe.

Why Verstappen's frustrations reached boiling point at Silverstone

It proved to be the proverbial final straw. Missing out on the podium itself did not bother Verstappen all that much. Instead, it was the way the weekend unfolded behind the scenes that fuelled his frustration.

A second consecutive crash caused by Red Bull's rear wing – albeit due to two different failures – is one thing, prompting Verstappen to describe the situation as both "unacceptable" and "super dangerous". Unsurprisingly, the FIA has since started looking into the matter as well.

But that was not all. His frustration had already begun before the race, when Red Bull decided against changing the power unit or making significant set-up changes, which would have resulted in a pitlane start. Verstappen voiced that frustration not only after his retirement, but already before the race when Sky Italia asked him why his preferred approach had not been followed.

"You'll have to ask the team," was his blunt response. 

Verstappen endured a frustrating British GP weekend

Photo by: James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images

"I wanted to start from the pitlane. Maybe they were confident to fix it, I was not," the Dutchman added after the race.

Team principal Laurent Mekies later explained that Red Bull had simply made a judgement call. The team knew the power unit and set-up were not ideal, but believed that starting from the pitlane would have left Verstappen with virtually no chance of fighting for the top positions.
And, to be fair, that sounds like a perfectly reasonable assessment.

Mekies is probably right in saying that the chances of achieving a strong result from the pitlane would have been significantly lower, but that is not Verstappen's main point. Back in Canada, he had already told the Dutch media in the paddock that the team had not listened to him, on that occasion regarding the set-up direction he wanted to pursue ahead of qualifying.

"I wanted to start from the pitlane. Maybe they were confident to fix it, I was not" Max Verstappen

"I've pointed it out so many times already, but sometimes you just have to let them feel for themselves that it doesn't work," Verstappen said.

Adding to that frustration is that, according to De Telegraaf, not all sensitive information is still being shared with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, following the latter's impending move to McLaren.

It points to small cracks in the communication – something that had long been one of Red Bull's greatest strengths when it came to turning difficult race weekends around. Mekies, however, responded coolly by suggesting that those kinds of "I told you games" are actually necessary to help the team move forward.

A repeat of 2025 seems almost impossible

Red Bull turned it around late last year as Verstappen narrowly missed out on a fifth title

Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images

While those issues above all require honest conversations – although Verstappen admitted after Silverstone that he had little appetite for those – other problems are considerably harder to solve. That is particularly true when it comes to Red Bull's outright performance, which has simply not been good enough in 2026.

Second place in Austria offered some encouragement, but the Silverstone weekend showed that Red Bull is still far from where it needs to be, especially at energy-starved circuits. Verstappen has already warned that Spa and Monza are likely to present similar challenges.

Last year, the summer break marked the beginning of a remarkable turnaround. Verstappen went on to finish every grand prix after the summer break on the podium. This time, however, a similar comeback appears almost impossible for two reasons.

Firstly, Red Bull cannot address the shortcomings on the electrical side of its power unit while it remains at the top of the FIA's internal combustion engine ranking. That means the manufacturer is not eligible for an ADUO token, even though such a token is – because of the way the system is fundamentally designed (and flawed) – required to modify the electrical side of the power unit.

In that sense, Red Bull is effectively checkmated on the power unit side and is even dependent on rival manufacturers if it is ever to lose that top position at one of the FIA's future assessment points.

On the chassis side, Red Bull has made significant progress with the upgrades introduced in Miami and Spielberg, but everyone within the team acknowledges that it is still not enough. Austria offered hope, but Toto Wolff rightly pointed out that Verstappen has always gone well at the Red Bull Ring. Different layouts, such as Silverstone, have once again exposed the remaining weaknesses.

Verstappen and Red Bull's issues run deeper than his recent incidents

Photo by: Clive Rose / Formula 1 via Getty Images

The bad news is that there is only so much Red Bull can continue to develop. While Verstappen joked in Austria that the team can perhaps spend a little less on catering, he struck a more serious tone at Silverstone.

"You have the cost cap to deal with. Because of that, you can't keep bringing a lot of upgrades to the car." At some point, Verstappen knows, Red Bull will simply hit the limit.

All of that means 2026 looks effectively beyond saving. Verstappen may still be able to pick up the occasional standout result here and there, but over the remainder of the season, it is likely to be six more months of grinding through race weekends, especially given that he is not particularly enjoying the current regulations.

McLaren, Red Bull or a break from F1?

Looking further ahead, Verstappen now has to answer one fundamental question: which project does he trust the most, if he does not opt for a sabbatical or an early departure from F1? Against that backdrop, it is only logical that Verstappen’s management is once again exploring the market.

"You have the cost cap to deal with. Because of that, you can't keep bringing a lot of upgrades to the car" Max Verstappen

There is a reason why manager Raymond Vermeulen recently told De Telegraaf that Verstappen "wasn't born to race in the midfield". Unfortunately for the Dutchman, that has been the reality more often than he would have liked this season.

It is equally logical that McLaren has emerged as the most prominent option, given the current situation at Ferrari and Mercedes. Nobody at McLaren has denied holding talks with Verstappen’s camp, instead describing them as perfectly natural – which, in reality, they are.

Red Bull was keen to avoid this entire saga by urging Verstappen to publicly commit his future to the team and even attempting to buy out the exit clause in his contract for several million euros.

Could Verstappen follow long-time engineer Lambiase to McLaren?

Photo by: circuitpics.de

Understandably, Verstappen saw little reason to agree to either request because neither was in his interest. Given the salary he already earns, money is hardly the deciding factor, while giving up that clause would naturally mean surrendering a great deal of freedom and, with it, leverage.

Not everyone within Red Bull has been pleased with those decisions, with some even seeing it as a matter of loyalty. The counterargument, however, is that every elite athlete has to make the decision that is best for their own career, and Verstappen has already shown plenty of loyalty to Red Bull over the years.

Of course, Red Bull has given him complete freedom to pursue his endurance racing ambitions, but the early signs are that McLaren would not be entirely opposed to that either.

Secondly, Red Bull provided Verstappen with the environment in which he won four world championships. This should not be forgotten, but many of the key figures behind that success have now left – or are about to leave – the team, as is the case with Lambiase.

With Rob Marshall, Will Courtenay and, from 2028 onwards, Lambiase, several of Red Bull's key pillars have ended up at McLaren.

That said, there are also important question marks surrounding the Woking-based team. At present, McLaren says it is, for the first time ever, hindered by its status as a Mercedes customer team, while FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has made no secret of his desire to reduce that dependence in the longer term.

That could eventually encourage McLaren to embark on its own power unit project, whereas Red Bull already has such a programme in place and – at least on the internal combustion engine side – it has proven surprisingly competitive.

FIA president Ben Sulayem is looking to exile customer engines

Photo by: Colin McMaster / LAT Images via Getty Images

That, however, remains a long-term consideration and would only become relevant in the next cycle at the earliest. Verstappen, by contrast, has to make a decision that primarily concerns the years in between.

For that period, Mekies remains convinced that, despite all the departures, Red Bull still possesses enough "strength in depth" within the organisation – as Christian Horner frequently phrased it – while the team's long-awaited new wind tunnel is finally due to become operational next year.

The short term simply cannot be salvaged, regardless of the scenario, and Verstappen knows that. In the longer term, however, everything comes down to which project feels more convincing and where he has the greatest confidence.

That is a question only Verstappen himself can answer, regardless of all the speculation surrounding his future. Ultimately, it comes down to trust: trust in the project and trust in F1's future.

Will Verstappen stay at Red Bull and return to glory?

Photo by: Mark Thompson / Getty Images