Racing
© fuji.tim
Max Verstappen believes this weekend’s British Grand Prix could turn into a frustrating test of Formula 1’s current power-unit rules, warning after his second place in Austria that Silverstone’s fast layout leaves too few chances to recharge battery energy and may leave one of the sport’s great circuits feeling "very different".
Speaking in the post-race FIA press conference after the Austrian Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver said a simulator run for Silverstone made the problem obvious. "Silverstone, I love the track, but I did a few laps on the simulator and I just started laughing," Verstappen said. "It felt like a different track, to be honest. You barely have battery around the lap. It’s just constantly flat. So yes, it’s going to feel very different compared to what we are used to around Silverstone, because of the layout of the track."
His concern is rooted in the contrast with the Red Bull Ring, where Red Bull had just shown improved pace. Verstappen said Austria’s long straights and heavy braking zones make energy recovery far easier, while Silverstone’s fast corners do the opposite. "Here you have long straights and big braking zones, so you can charge the battery," he said. "There you have long straights but in a fast corner, for example, so you can’t really charge the batteries, and then the next straight you don’t have a lot to spend. It’s going to be a tough one."
That warning matters because it comes just as Red Bull appeared to take a step forward. Verstappen finished second behind George Russell in Austria after the team introduced a major upgrade package, but he said the result was hard earned because he was dealing with a rear-end technical problem in the second half of the race. Silverstone now threatens to blur the picture of Red Bull’s progress if the circuit’s energy demands override gains made on the chassis side.
The issue also sits inside a wider backlash from drivers over an engine formula that puts roughly equal emphasis on internal-combustion and battery-hybrid power. On circuits with limited recovery opportunities, drivers are forced to manage deployment rather than simply run flat out, and Verstappen expects Silverstone to be one of the clearest examples.
That makes the British Grand Prix an important measure of where Red Bull really stands. Mercedes has shown strong electrical-energy recharging and deployment this season, and Lewis Hamilton, the Mercedes driver, said Red Bull’s gains in Austria were still significant. "The weight that they dropped from the car is huge," Hamilton said. "It’s showing that they’ve got a good car. Then they brought up lots of upgrades, so they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with in the following races."
Even so, Silverstone may reward the team with the stronger energy system more than the one with the latest performance step, leaving Verstappen’s Austria podium less a sign of straightforward momentum than a prelude to an acid test against a rival expected to be enormously strong.