This is one of F1’s most storied venues.

Credit: Marc Fleury/Alessio Morgese/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Not this year. As I’ve detailed more than a few times now, the current breed of F1 car is not at all suited to tracks with high-speed corners. Because the hybrid side of the new power units provides such little energy, going flat out all the time is not the fastest way to complete a lap. Corners that once required a driver’s commitment and maybe a little bravery to drive at the limit are now coasted into to allow the engine to divert some of its power to recharge the battery. Needless to say, the drivers aren’t thrilled.

“For most of sector two, you run just on the engine,” said Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. “So what is that? 450 bhp, 500 bhp? Something like that, which is, I guess, more or less what a Formula 3 car has but with F1 downforce. So you can imagine, of course, that that is not very exciting to drive.”

“But honestly, I don’t want to sit here and complain again because probably someone will shoot me outside the door,” he joked.

Rumors continue to swirl about Verstappen’s future. As he is not in the top two of the driver’s championship, he could potentially activate an escape clause in his Red Bull contract, and some think a move to McLaren could be possible. A complete F1 sabbatical is another alternative, as Verstappen has made no secret of his desire to win some of the world’s other great races outside of F1, like the 24-hour endurance races at Le Mans, the Nürburgring, and, yes, Spa.

While I’d love to see Verstappen in more GT3 and possibly prototypes, I’m guessing he’ll stay in F1, and with Red Bull. “I’m mentally just adjusting to it. I’m trying to make the best out of it,” he told the media after qualifying. “Even though, of course, it’s not what I like, not what I love to do in Formula 1. But I can also sit at home and drive nothing. But that also doesn’t do anything. So I’m just trying my best.”

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/07/f1-in-belgium-the-2026-cars-look-pathetic-on-all-the-best-racetracks/