Max Verstappen: I don’t want to complain again because probably someone will shoot me

The most expensive, most complex, yet most ineffective Power Units ever introduced into our sport were embarrassingly exposed at Formula 1’s most splendid venue. Spa-Francorchamps must have been laughing deep into the Ardennes at what it had just witnessed, considering the legends those trees know all about.

Four to five seconds slower than their predecessors last year, the gap between first and last on the Qualifying timesheets was an astronomical 5.8 seconds. Those who conceptualised and rubber-stamped this absurdity should hang their heads in shame and be banished from the sport forever.

After Qualifying P2 for Sunday’s Grand Prix, Verstappen - well known for his disdain of the FOM slop we are being served - was prodded by reporters in the FIA-hosted press conference about what is required to drive these cars.

The Red Bull driver needed few words to explain how badly the latest generation of Formula 1 machinery has diluted one of the sport’s greatest circuits.

Asked how energy recovery affected Pouhon, Verstappen made clear the problem extended far beyond one section: "It’s not only Turn 24. It’s the whole track. It’s a different Spa, but I mentally readjust to it.”

Verstappen explained that the worst comes through Spa’s middle sector, where the hybrid system’s electrical energy has already been depleted. The car carries all its aerodynamic drag while relying largely on the combustion engine.

Sitting with Verstappen during the post-qualy press conference were pole winner, Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli and McLaren's reigning World Champion Lando Norris who was P3 in the session today. They both concurred with the Red Bull driver's observations.

“For most of sector two, you run just on the engine,” he said. “So what is that? Four hundred and fifty, five hundred horsepower, something like that, which is, I guess, more or less what a Formula 3 car has, but with F1 downforce.”

That is the absurdity. Formula 1 has created cars with huge aerodynamic capability, yet drivers negotiate Spa with power levels Verstappen compared to Formula 3. “You can imagine, of course, that that is not very exciting to drive,” the four-time World Champion added.

The most revealing part of Verstappen’s answer was not the technical explanation. It was the resignation behind it as he resisted launching another attack on the regulations.

“Honestly, I don’t want to sit here and complain again because probably someone will shoot me outside the door,” said Verstappen who has repeatedly questioned heavier cars, increasingly complex Power Units and regulations prioritising efficiency over spectacle.

This time, he admitted he had recalibrated his expectations: “I’m mentally just adjusting to it, and I’m trying to make the best out of it, even though, of course, it’s not what I like or what I love to do in Formula 1. But I can also sit at home and drive nothing, and that also doesn’t do anything, so I’m just trying my best.”

That may be the bleakest verdict of all. Verstappen is no longer expecting Formula 1 to provide the driving challenge he loves; he is merely adapting to what remains.