Author Archives: PressBox

Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz sharply criticized F1’s 2026 regulations after qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, saying the new cars are strong in the corners but too slow on the straights. Both drivers pointed to an about 50 km/h loss in the final sector when the battery ran out, with the problem particularly evident at Spa.

Sainz said the rules should never have been accepted and were “not good enough,” arguing that no one is enjoying qualifying as much as they did last year and that the Spa performance drop showed the regulations should not have passed on the basis of 2022 and 2023 simulations. Hamilton echoed that view and questioned how the current rule set was approved if simulations had already been run in 2022.

Sainz also said the energy-management limits were costing too much speed at Blanchimont and Pouhon, and warned that the first lap would be “tricky and sketchy” with active aerodynamics and close running up Eau Rouge and the Kemmel Straight. Battery deployment is capped at seven megajoules in qualifying, and poor energy retention could put cars at risk of falling under the 107 percent rule on high-speed circuits. Hamilton qualified poorly at Spa and was set to start from the third row, and said he would lean on his long-run pace in the SF-26 as he looked to earn a sixth podium of the season.

Max Verstappen renewed his criticism of Formula 1’s 2026 regulations after qualifying second at Spa-Francorchamps, saying the changes have made the Belgian Grand Prix circuit feel like “a different Spa.” He said the high-speed middle sector now feels more like driving a Formula 3 car with F1 downforce, and added that the lap was “not very exciting to drive.” Verstappen joked that he did not want to complain too much because “someone will shoot me outside the door” if he kept talking about the cars, and said he was trying to adapt before Sunday’s race.

Verstappen said Spa’s Sector 2 was effectively run on the engine alone, with little or no deployment under the new rules, and estimated the cars were producing about 450 to 500 horsepower in that section. He said the altered balance between combustion power and electric power was making the cars behave very differently at the track. Other drivers echoed the concerns, with Fernando Alonso having previously pointed to the same issue, while Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz all said corners such as Pouhon felt less like a corner and that the new rules had taken away some of the enjoyment of qualifying at Spa.

Drivers are hoping the situation improves in the coming years as the engine power split is adjusted in two steps. The target is for the balance to move toward 60-40 by 2028, but for now Spa remains the clearest example of how the 2026 regulations have changed the feel of Formula 1 driving.

Charles Leclerc said a yellow-flag misunderstanding on his final Q3 lap at Spa-Francorchamps cost him time and may have denied him a better qualifying position for the Belgian Grand Prix. He finished about half a second behind pole sitter Kimi Antonelli and will start fourth because Lando Norris received a 10-place grid penalty.

Leclerc backed off at the final corner after seeing a marshal’s yellow flag, but the signal was for the pit lane, where Isack Hadjar had just parked his Red Bull after giving Max Verstappen a tow. Leclerc said he was quite annoyed and believed he might have been third or fourth without the confusion, though he did not think the mistake changed the result dramatically.

Ferrari had already identified and changed a power unit problem that had been slowing Leclerc on the straights before qualifying, but he said the car still lacked straight-line speed at Spa and would need a good tow. He said Ferrari is strong in grip-limited corners but loses ground on power-limited sections, and joked the team would need a Mercedes engine to challenge Mercedes.

Ferrari still hoped to fight for a podium on race day despite the difficult session. Lewis Hamilton will start fifth after mechanics rebuilt his car in time for qualifying following a heavy crash in FP3, and he said the repaired car did not feel identical to his original one. Hamilton also believed Ferrari could challenge for a podium on Sunday.

Red Bull’s qualifying plan at Spa centered on a tow strategy that helped Max Verstappen reach the front row of the Belgian Grand Prix grid. Isack Hadjar backed off on both of his Q3 laps to give Verstappen a slipstream to the final chicane, and Verstappen took second place with a 1:44.678, 0.317 seconds behind Mercedes pole-sitter Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Verstappen said Hadjar’s tow was important to the result, and Hadjar said helping Verstappen was the right thing to do. Hadjar did not complete a Q3 lap and will start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid after multiple power unit component changes and a significant penalty later in the weekend.

Verstappen said Red Bull’s car had been quite decent all weekend and that he was happy with how the team executed qualifying. The team also ran Verstappen with a revised rear wing after recent qualifying crashes, and Red Bull used Hadjar’s car to provide the slipstream on both of Verstappen’s Q3 runs. Fans said Red Bull had done everything possible, but Antonelli was still too fast to catch. Verstappen matched his best grid position of the season with the P2 result.

The encouraging qualifying showing followed a strong Friday practice session for Red Bull. Verstappen topped FP1 and was third in FP2, less than half a second behind Antonelli, while Hadjar was fourth in FP1 and fifth in FP2. Verstappen said the RB22 had good balance right away but still needed fine-tuning, and he warned the team was losing time on the straights. Red Bull also saw better signs on longer runs with medium tires, while technical director Pierre Waché said the team had identified the mechanical cause of the rear-wing problem and hoped to return to the original rear wing soon, with safety the top priority.

Max Verstappen’s Friday practice at the Belgian Grand Prix was disrupted by an “unacceptable” gearbox and downshift problem in his Red Bull, with the issue triggering angry team-radio messages during second practice at Spa-Francorchamps. Verstappen said the shifting behavior was unacceptable, and FP2 was much more troublesome than FP1, where he had topped the session for the first time this season.

The problem improved after a software change, and Verstappen said the car was in a decent operating window by the end of the day. He said FP2 was the true picture of Red Bull’s pace, with Kimi Antonelli nearly half a second ahead, and added that the gap was not shocking because Red Bull appeared slightly weaker on Spa’s straights due to energy-management issues.

Red Bull also ran a more conventional older rear wing at Spa after shelving its rotating rear-wing concept, which the team dropped after crashes in Austria and Britain. Verstappen said the wing change should not be decisive and that Red Bull was focused on improving its package, while technical director Pierre Wache said the team still had a lot to improve overnight, including balance and long-run degradation. Verstappen expected Mercedes’ advantage to grow in final practice and qualifying.