‘Someone will shoot me' - Max Verstappen makes F3 power jab about F1 at Spa

Max Verstappen says Formula 1 drivers have been left with Formula 3 levels of power at the Belgian Grand Prix due to the 2026 engine regulations. 

Four-time world champion Verstappen, who has been the biggest critic about F1’s 2026 rules, was more careful with his wording as he assessed the impact of the power unit regulations at Spa-Francorchamps. 

Spa is a firm favourite circuit among F1 drivers but many had expressed concerns heading into the weekend, and their fears seemed to come to fruition during qualifying. 

And Verstappen feels F1 drivers have been left with levels of horsepower similar to F3 cars.

"For most of sector two, you run just on the engine. So, what is that? 450bhp, 500bhp? Something like that, which is, I guess, less or more or less what a Formula 3 car has but with F1 downforce," Verstappen said after qualifying in Belgium. 

"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.

"But like I said before, I'm mentally just adjusting to it. I'm trying to make the best out of it. 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.”

‘How can we even accept that?’ 

Verstappen wasn’t the only driver to bite their tongue as they reflected on a qualifying lap of the previously-fearsome Spa.

Carlos Sainz stressed he did not want to “belittle” F1 but admitted the rule changes have lessened the enjoyment factor around the iconic circuit. 

"I think no one out there is enjoying the qualifying lap as much as we did last year," the Williams driver said. "I think it's clear that we've lost quite a bit with these cars around Spa. 

"Having said that, I don't want to keep belittling my own sport because it's not going to do any good. I think we all know this is not good enough. 

"That needs to change. It will change. It will evolve. But yeah, hopefully next year is a step better and the year after another step better.

"But what I say is, whoever saw these simulations in 2022, 2023 and look at it and say, how can we even accept that? It needs to review what happened there because it should have never happened. 

"But now we're here, we're having some exciting races, the sport is still growing, so time to move on.”

Meanwhile, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri reckons the challenge of Pouhon has been diminished, admitting it is a “pretty different Spa” to previous years. 

"Pouhon was pretty nasty as well, or it's probably more appropriate calling it 'the bend in the straight' because it's not a corner anymore," the Australian said. 

"[It's] a shame because one, it's always been a great corner, and [two] it's always been a good corner for me as well.

"It's strange just with how different things are this year, and also the power you have out of the corners.

"A lot of the places now, we only have the combustion engine giving us power, so you come out of some corners with close to 1000bhp, you come out of others with 550bhp, 600bhp, whatever it is, so getting your head around that is pretty tough.

"So it's definitely been more challenging in some ways, but it's been a pretty different Spa to years [previously].”