Annoyed by the behavior of his gearbox during FP2 at Spa, Max Verstappen later put the incident into perspective and explained the source of his frustration.
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Max Verstappen experienced a tense moment during the second free practice session of the Belgian Grand Prix. While having a good start to the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, the Red Bull driver sharply criticized the operation of his gearbox while driving his RB22.
The four-time world champion, who had set the fastest time in FP1 for the first time this season, quickly lost patience during the second session. The gear changes of his car did not satisfy him and provoked a very strong reaction on the radio.
“My God, these gear changes! he said to his team. It’s incredible, why are they so bad? It’s unacceptable.”
A statement that immediately drew attention, in a context where the Dutchman has already shown frustration in recent weeks due to several problems encountered with Red Bull, notably issues related to the rear wing of his car.
Despite this episode, Verstappen finished FP2 in third place, about four tenths of a second behind Kimi Antonelli, who set the best time with Mercedes. Lando Norris was positioned between the two drivers.
A problem related to a software change
After the session, Max Verstappen wanted to calm things down. The Red Bull driver explained that his irritation was more related to his high level of demand than to a major problem with the car.
According to him, the difficulties encountered stemmed from a software update that still required some adaptation time.
“I am always very sensitive to these things because I want to work on them and improve them” explained Verstappen.
“I think there was an update, or a software modification, and it took some time for the gear changes to adapt. Then, it improved towards the end of the session.”
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The Dutchman acknowledged that some shifts worked correctly while others remained less convincing, but he was overall satisfied with the behavior of his RB22.
“Some elements worked well, others less so, but overall the car was in a good window.”
Spa, a particular challenge with the new power units
Beyond the gearbox problem, Verstappen also mentioned the specific difficulties of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit with the new 2026 engine regulations.
The long straights of the Belgian track and the limited energy recovery opportunities make energy management particularly complex for the teams.
According to the Red Bull driver, this aspect could play an important role in the weekend’s hierarchy.
“For me, I didn’t really encounter big problems, but we will probably see the real gaps more in FP3. It’s not a surprise, it’s simply expected. Spa is a difficult circuit with energy management.”
Verstappen nevertheless believes that Red Bull has a solid base before the rest of the weekend, even if he acknowledges a slight deficit in top speed compared to some competitors.
“It seems that we are a bit slower on the straights compared to some of our rivals. But in terms of balance, the car works quite well.”
The third free practice session should therefore allow a better assessment of the real performance of each team before qualifying.
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