Max Verstappen left Silverstone not just annoyed, but questioning how much longer he can keep tolerating Red Bull’s problems. A pair of rear wing failures in eight days turned a difficult weekend into a more serious warning sign for both his safety and his future.
The Dutch driver was chasing third place in the closing laps of the British Grand Prix when the car snapped out of control and slid into the gravel. He had already suffered a similar rear wing issue in Austria qualifying, and after this latest incident he said he was “really fed up” with it.
A weekend that exposed the cracks
Verstappen said the car had “a terrible balance” all weekend and lacked top speed compared with the other Red Bull in the garage. After qualifying seventh, he said there was “actually no point to race like this if we keep the car the same,” and even wanted to start from the pit lane so the team could make changes.
Red Bull did not agree, choosing to keep him on the grid in seventh rather than send him to the back. Team principal Laurent Mekies later said the team believed Verstappen still had a better chance from there, and added he was “not completely sure” the car would have been in a stronger position had Verstappen started from the pit lane.
| Issue | Verstappen’s view | Red Bull’s response |
|---|---|---|
| Car balance and pace | “Terrible balance” and no top speed | Team kept the car as it was |
| Starting position | Wanted to start from the pit lane | Chose to start seventh |
| Rear wing failure | Felt “super dangerous” | Promised a full review |
Verstappen’s concern was not only about speed. He said the rear wing problem made the car feel unsafe at high speed, especially when it failed to close properly and left him without the downforce and grip he expected.
“At that point, it’s super dangerous, because you can really hurt yourself two times,” he said after the race. “I was lucky in Austria, I was lucky here. That’s why you get really fed up with it.”
What it means for his future
The frustration matters because Verstappen has also made clear that this generation of F1 cars does not suit him. He said Silverstone gave him “no enjoyment,” and the same feeling is likely to follow at Spa, where he has another classic high-speed challenge ahead.
He described the current style of racing as one that requires too much focus on battery management and button-pressing overtakes, rather than the flat-out racing he prefers. For a driver who wants to “finish races first of all,” that mismatch is becoming harder to ignore.
His situation is made more complicated by the contract picture. Verstappen is tied to Red Bull through 2028, but his deal contains clauses that could allow him to leave at the end of the year if he is outside a set championship position at a certain point, believed to be the top two.
That looks unlikely at the moment. He is winless after nine rounds, sits seventh in the standings, and is more than 100 points behind the championship leader.
According to www.nytimes.com, Verstappen’s management has already approached McLaren for talks, but there appear to be few obvious alternatives for 2027. McLaren CEO Zak Brown has stressed his commitment to Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, Mercedes is committed to George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, and Ferrari has already extended Charles Leclerc while Lewis Hamilton remains under contract and still sees time left on his agreement.
For Red Bull, the immediate priority is fixing the car and preventing another repeat, especially with Spa’s high-speed corners next on the calendar. Mekies said the team would do “whatever is necessary” to understand the latest rear wing failure.
But after Silverstone, the bigger issue may be whether Verstappen still believes Red Bull can give him what he needs. He said he needed “a few days” to reset, and right now the partnership that once looked unshakable feels more fragile than at any point in recent seasons.
