Verstappen

Three races into this season, after the Japanese Grand Prix, the frustrations of driving the new hybrid engines of this year boiled over in Verstappen.

The need to constantly recover energy to power the batteries, the impossibility of doing so to the extent that they are fully charged at all times, and the artificiality that had been introduced into the racing as a consequence, were too much for the Dutchman after a race at Suzuka, arguably the greatest circuit on the calendar.

“Is it worth it?” Verstappen pondered out loud. “Or do I enjoy being more at home with my family? Seeing my friends more when you’re not enjoying your sport?”

By 2028, the split between internal combustion and electrical power will be 60:40 in favour of the internal combustion engine, when it is more like 53:47 now.

That will reduce – but not eliminate – the energy starvation suffered by the engines, and as a consequence make driving the cars feel more enjoyable.

Verstappen is the purist’s purist. He wants to drive on the limit all the time.

So it was total anathema to him having the engines run out of battery power, robbing them of 470bhp, before the end of long straights, needing to recover energy through the fastest corners, and having power off-sets between one car and another decide overtakes.

In May, he had an experience that underlined to him what F1 had lost, to his mind.

He raced a Red Bull-branded Mercedes AMG GT at the Nurburgring 24 Hours, and he was nothing less than sensational, particularly in a first stint that took the car he shared with two other drivers from 10th to first. Only a late driveshaft failure robbed him of victory.

This, to him, was what racing was all about.

Since Japan, the complaints of the drivers – Verstappen was far from the only driver to express his discontent – have been heard by the sport’s bosses.

Tweaks to the rules are being introduced over the next two years, to increase the proportion of the total power output of the engine coming from the internal combustion side.

At the last couple of races before the summer break, which is brought to an end by this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, a softening of Verstappen’s tone in F1 was discernible. And on Thursday he confirmed it.

“After the first few races, I said to Laurent [Mekies, the Red Bull team principal], ‘Don’t come to me with any kind of questions about the future’. Because I didn’t even know if I wanted to stay,” Verstappen said.

“I love racing. I had a lot of very good discussions with F1, but also with the FIA. And I think we are slowly working towards something that becomes better and better.

“Also from my side, of course, I adapted. I accept the situation that we’re all in and just trying to make the best of that.

“Also with the year that I signed to, it again opens up the door maybe, you know, when potentially the V8s come in to look at that again as well.”

That is a reference to ongoing discussions about the next engine regulations, due to come in by 2031 at the latest.

It says something about the mess the sport has got itself into with the latest engine rules that discussions about the next ones, due in five years’ time, started even before the first race of the new power-units.

The FIA, the sport’s governing body, was primarily responsible for the issues with energy starvation that have caused so much angst this season.

They were warned by teams and drivers for the last two years or more that this energy starvation situation would become an issue. But they did not listen, instead focusing on adding ever-more complexities to the rules to try to address some of the consequences of it.

Four-time F1 World Drivers’ Champion’s new deal puts to rest rumours that he would exit the team at the end of 2028 season.

Multiple Formula One world champion Max Verstappen has signed a new contract with Red Bull Racing until the end of 2030, the team announced, ending speculation over his future in the sport.

“Four more years of full send. We are delighted to announce that Max has signed a contract extension with the team until the end of 2030,” Red Bull said on X on Thursday.

The news came with preparations in full swing for Verstappen’s home race this Sunday, the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, and will delight his thousands of orange-clad fans.

Verstappen is one of the most successful Formula One drivers of all time, dominating the sport with four consecutive world championships from 2021.

But results have been harder to come by this season, with the 28-year-old failing to see a chequered flag in the first half of the year and sitting sixth in the drivers’ championship.

“This commitment is about more than continuing an already extraordinary alliance,” the team said in its statement.

“It is a powerful statement of mutual trust and ambition – and a shared decision to shape the future together.”

The uncompetitive nature of the Red Bull car this year has led many to speculate that the mercurial Dutchman could switch to another team or even leave Formula One entirely.

But Verstappen said he was keen to get the team back to winning ways.

“We have the best people and I’m excited to keep working together with everyone to get back to the top again,” he was quoted as saying.

Dutch courage needed this weekend

The news adds even more spice to the last-ever edition of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

Verstappen was unbeatable on his home track, winning the first three editions since it was reintroduced to the circuit in 2021.

But he has since been chasing McLaren in his own back yard, with Papaya drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri claiming the last two races.

Verstappen is expected to don a special helmet for the occasion, inspired by the famous blue Delft pottery.

The promoters decided not to continue racing at Zandvoort, partly due to uncertainty over Verstappen’s future given his importance for the popularity of the event.

“I have always said it: The team is like a second family for me and I feel very at home,” said Verstappen.

“I came to the team hoping to be able to win races. What we went on to achieve together has been simply lovely,” added Verstappen, using his trademark phrase.

Verstappen was unhappy with his car for much of the race, but Red Bull pulled a masterstroke when they fitted soft tyres to his car at his second pit stop.

The aim was to challenge Hamilton in the later laps after the seven-time champion made an early second stop with 40 laps still to go.

It was heading towards a tense climax when Piastri’s retirement brought out the VSC.

That prompted a late round of pit stops, Ferrari bringing in both their drivers and putting them behind Verstappen.

Hamilton came out of the pits and passed Antonelli into the first corner, after the Italian stayed out under the VSC, but had to give the place back after the restart because the Mercedes driver had just passed the key line on the track in front.

Antonelli and Hamilton started chasing back towards Verstappen, but they were delayed while lapping Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto.

That looked as if it might be decisive, but in the end Verstappen was comfortably able to keep Antonelli at bay, crossing the line 3.6 seconds ahead.

Another key point in Verstappen’s race had been his re-passing of Hamilton after the Ferrari had got briefly ahead following the first pit stops.

That gave him clear air and enabled the Dutchman to consolidate his race position in third place behind the McLarens, laying the foundations for Red Bull’s late strategy call.

Hamilton will leave Hungary ruing another penalty – the one for speeding in the pit lane was his second in two days after behind penalised for blocking Piastri in qualifying, and follows two other penalties at the previous two races in Belgium and Britain.

Behind him, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar was sixth, ahead of Russell, who dropped to 21st place on the first lap after his anti-stall kicked in at the start, and fought back strongly.

At Aston Martin, Lance Stroll finished in 13th, ahead of team-mate Fernando Alonso, their positions dictated to a degree by luck under the VSC and their divergent strategies.

But the key point was that Alonso, in particular, was able to fight with other cars for the first time, and he ran a long first stint on the soft tyres, before switching to the mediums, which was a bold strategy.

The long-awaited upgrade to their car, which was new apart from the front suspension, engine and gearbox, has reduced their lap times by about two seconds.

A Honda engine upgrade is due for the Dutch Grand Prix, the next race in four weeks’ time after the summer break, which the team hope will elevate them further and potentially bring the possibility of the occasional points finish into the picture.

Red Bull are reverting to a conventional rear wing for this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix following high-speed crashes for Max Verstappen in the previous two races.

The move has been confirmed to BBC Sport by Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies, who said the team had discovered a problem with their previous wing in tests since the race at Silverstone.

Red Bull are reverting to a wing that opens for straight-line mode in standard fashion, Mekies said.

Verstappen said at Spa on Thursday: “It’s quite obvious why. We will go back on the old one and see whenever the new one is ready again to be used by us.”

Red Bull and Ferrari have this year pioneered a new design where the rear wing opens into straight-line mode by the top flap rotating more than 180 degrees.

This gives a bigger opening, greater drag reduction and therefore increased straight-line speed.

However, Verstappen’s crashes – one during the British Grand Prix and one in qualifying in Austria – were related to the way the wing closed on entry to two high-speed corners.

Charles Leclerc added a second win for Ferrari in three races at a dramatic British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Mercedes’ George Russell finished second and Leclerc’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton third in their home race.

Kimi Antonelli, who won his first sprint on Saturday, ended the race in 16th after car problems, reducing his lead over Russell to 25 points.

BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson answers your latest questions after a race which finished under the safety car after Max Verstappen crashed out.

Did Formula 1 miss a trick with the ending of the British GP? Should they be looking at what happened in a similar situation at this year’s Indy 500? To avoid finishing behind the safety car, they red-flagged the race to enable recovery before then restarting the race and finishing under green-flag conditions – Matthew

This is one of those situations where everyone has their own opinion, each view has its validity, but F1 as a sport has agreed a certain approach based on the lessons of the past.

In an ideal world, it would be better in terms of entertainment if races did not finish under a safety car. It can be argued that it is anti-climactic.

At the same time, it’s hard to argue that the British Grand Prix lacked drama and excitement, notwithstanding the fact that it ended under caution.

Take a step back, and the issue here is the regulations around the safety car and its operation.

These have been built up over many years and developed to the point that the FIA, Formula 1 and the teams are satisfied with them, while always being open to improvements.

F1 has learned the lessons of Abu Dhabi 2021. The context there was that it had been agreed that it was, in ideal circumstances, preferable for races not to end under a safety car.

The problem in that race was that the race director at the time set about trying to ensure the race ended under a green flag, thinking that was the right thing to do, but he made a series of mistakes in doing so, including ignoring the rules.

I’ve seen people say that the race director is free to operate the safety car as they wish. That’s a misinterpretation – they are free to operate it as they wish under the rules as they stand.

That’s what Michael Masi got wrong in Abu Dhabi. The race director can’t just make up the rules. Otherwise, why have them?

Now, yes, the race director on Sunday at Silverstone could have chosen to red-flag the race when Verstappen crashed at Stowe. Some may well have preferred him to.

But if Verstappen’s incident had happened on, say, lap 25 rather than lap 48, would it have been a red flag? Almost certainly not.

So, why should it be a red flag with four laps to go just because the race might end under the safety car?

There is a question of sporting integrity here. Any choice by a race director in this situation has the potential to change the result.

In this case, George Russell did not stop for tyres, and he gained a place as a result of it. Had the race been red-flagged, everyone would have been free to change tyres, there would have been a re-start. Positions could well have changed again.

Who is to say which of these situations is right or wrong, preferable or not? And even the drivers can be conflicted on this, depending on their own personal situation.

Race-winner Charles Leclerc said: ‘It’s not great for the fans that are here around the track. In the helmet, I was kind of happy that there was not a restart to keep that win.”

Russell said: “Of course it’s a shame for any race to finish under the safety car. But then you go back to Abu Dhabi ’21, and that is just how racing goes.

“Nobody can plan for somebody to have an incident, and the way F1 deal with it and FIA deal with it shouldn’t be any different at the end of the race compared to the start of the race.

“Obviously, there was a lot of chat post-Abu Dhabi ’21. If you actually look at the number of races that have finished under the safety car over the past 20 years, it’s not actually a lot. So, it is a shame, but what can you do? I don’t think it should be different.”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said: “Sometimes it doesn’t give for the most exciting finale. Certainly from a spectacle standpoint, everybody would have loved to see Lewis (Hamilton) on a soft (tyre) against us and maybe fighting with Leclerc. But this is a sport. Show follows sport and not the other way around.”

Mercedes’ George Russell took his second win of the season with victory from pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen recovered from a crash in the final part of qualifying to finish second at Red Bull’s home race, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli in third.

Russell’s win moves him back up to second in the drivers’ standings, 40 points behind team-mate Antonelli.

BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson answers your latest questions before this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

I think a pole position under a yellow flag sets a dangerous precedent, because it’s clear that from now on, everyone will continue to push hard after a small slow down, or else their lap will be cancelled. I’d be curious to hear your opinion – Lorenzo

George Russell’s pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix, the foundation for his victory on Sunday, came about in controversial circumstances.

According to the rules, Russell did nothing wrong.

Marshals trackside initially waved a single yellow flag when Max Verstappen crashed at Turn Nine.

Kimi Antonelli mis-read the light board as a double yellow, and backed out of his lap – the correct response for what he thought to be the case. Under a double yellow, drivers have to “slow down and be prepared to stop”.

But under a single yellow, a driver does not have to abandon their lap. They only have to not set a fastest time in the relevant section of the track.

Russell complied with this, but the rest of his lap was fast enough to put him on pole anyway.

The concern here is less the specifics of these rules, but whether the correct flag was shown in the circumstances.

The answer to that has to be no.

Verstappen crashed at the fastest corner on the track, which is taken at close to 140mph.

Turn Nine is notoriously challenging, with its downhill entry, and an exit kerb that’s easy to over-run.

Both Verstappen and Antonelli questioned the decision to show only a single yellow at the time, when Verstappen’s car was in the barrier at this corner as other drivers were seeking to set what would be their fastest laps of the weekend.

Verstappen described it as “quite crazy”.

Antonelli said: “There was a car in the wall in a fast corner. I don’t know why it didn’t go double-yellow straight away, because it’s a super-quick corner, and if you go off at the same time, it can end up very badly. That was a bit confusing.

“For sure it’s something that needs to be reviewed, especially when it happens in a high-speed corner.

“If it’s a slow-speed [corner], single yellow can be OK but fast corners should be double yellow straight away.”

To underline the point, within 20 seconds, race control upgraded the flag to a double yellow, but everyone had completed their laps by then.

George Russell’s victory over Max Verstappen further reduces teammate Kimi Antonelli’s lead in the drivers’ title race.

A thirsty George Russell won the Austrian Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday to trim Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli’s Formula One championship lead to 40 points.

Max Verstappen finished 1.6 seconds adrift, after crashing in qualifying and starting fifth, at his Red Bull team’s home circuit with Antonelli third and 0.3 behind after a thrilling chase to the line at scenic Spielberg.

The win was Russell’s second of the season, after he took the opener in Australia, his career seventh and Mercedes’ seventh in eight rounds so far.

Antonelli has 171 points to Russell’s 131 with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, fifth on Sunday after running second and battling Verstappen wheel-to-wheel, dropping to third on 125.

In the constructors’ standings, Mercedes have 302 points to Ferrari’s 204.

“Incredible to be back on the top step. It’s been a little while, so I am definitely going to enjoy this one this evening,” said Russell, who can now head to his home British GP at Silverstone next weekend on a high.

He revealed over the radio after taking the chequered flag that his drinks system had failed during the race, the first of the season to be declared a “heat hazard”. “Nice race for it to do so, I’m a little bit thirsty,” he said.

Oscar Piastri was fourth for McLaren, ahead of Hamilton, with Isack Hadjar sixth for Red Bull.

Reigning champion Lando Norris, last year’s winner in Austria, was seventh with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc eighth and Racing Bulls pair Liam Lawson and rookie Arvid Lindblad completing the top 10.

“I was having to push every single lap and when you push those boundaries there’s bound to be a small mistake or two,” said Russell.

“I knew how quick the guys were behind. Kimi has been extraordinarily quick this whole season, so every lap I was looking at the timing board.”

Mercedes driver George Russell controversially stole pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc with the last lap of the session.

The result came amid late drama as Russell set his lap, beating Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, despite passing yellow flags for a crash by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at the penultimate corner.

Russell’s team-mate Kimi Antonelli, who was running just ahead of the Briton, also passed the Verstappen incident, but did not improve his time and will line up fourth.

McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were sixth and seventh behind Verstappen, who kept fifth despite his crash.

Russell insisted he had slowed sufficiently for the Verstappen incident, and claimed there was just a single yellow flag showing, rather than the double waved yellows which might have been expected for such a situation.

“I had a big lift,” Russell said. “I went into the corner 0.5secs up and I came out 0.25secs up. It was great to get that lap.

“I just spoke with Toto [Wolff, team principal] and he said everything is fine with the yellow flag. Big 100m lift before the corner. So that’s good to hear.”

The late drama was caused by a big crash for Verstappen, who lost control going into the high-speed downhill right-hander and spun across the gravel into the barrier.

A Monaco pole is a statement performance for any driver and one of the biggest prizes in Formula 1. To deliver in this fashion, at the age of 19, underlined his potential as the most likely world champion this year at this early stage.

He and Verstappen were separated by just 0.001secs after their first runs in the final session and Antonelli said he had produced a “magic lap” to beat the Dutchman.

Leclerc went out early for the final runs after missing his first lap with a lock-up at Mirabeau, and he put himself at the top with his first effort.

Verstappen then beat that mark by 0.257secs to take top spot, only for Antonelli to displace him.

Leclerc was not finished – he had given himself time to have one final lap as the last driver on track. But he went over the limit and slid wide on the entry to Tabac, crunching his right rear wheel against the wall and breaking his rear suspension.

Antonelli said: “I was able to put everything together. It was such a close qualifying session. The last lap was good.”

Verstappen said he was surprised to be able to compete for pole position.

“If you would have told me yesterday I would be on the front row, I would have taken it,” he said. “So heading into qualifying and being up there was extremely positive. Very happy with how qualifying went. I am happy to be on the front row.”

Ferrari had been quickest on Friday, first and second in both sessions, but Hamilton said the car felt different as soon as qualifying started.

“We were looking so good in practice and then the car was drastically different in qualifying,” Hamilton said, “so we have to take a look at that. But I was giving it everything. What a privilege it is to be one of the 22 drivers who gets to do this. I loved every second of it.”

Russell struggled for grip throughout the session and never looked likely to get into the fight for pole, and he ended up 0.394secs behind his team-mate.