Max Verstappen glad to have break from F1 ahead of Belgian Grand Prix

Four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen has admitted he made the most of some time away from the demanding calendar following a British Grand Prix to forget last time out.

At Silverstone earlier this month, Verstappen and his struggling Red Bull team suffered yet another DNF in an unfortunate end to the ninth round of the 2026 championship.

Having crashed out of qualifying at Red Bull's home circuit the previous race, the energy drink giants issued an apology to Verstappen, confirming the incident occurred as a result of 'lost aero performance on the rear of the car' rather than a mistake made by their star driver.

But despite picking himself up and even managing to qualify third-fastest for Saturday's sprint race in Silverstone, dreams of a major points haul at the British GP were shattered when Verstappen crashed at Stowe with just four laps to go in Sunday's main event.

With a DNF and no points to his name from the English race as a result, Verstappen sits firmly in P7 in the championship, meaning it is now mathematically impossible for him to be in the top two by the time the summer break rolls around in less than two weeks.

This means he will be able to activate his performance-based contract clause and could potentially leave Red Bull early despite being contracted to the team until the end of 2028.

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Verstappen enjoys reset after 'tough' weekend at Silverstone

As fans await news of Verstappen's decision over whether to stick or twist where his F1 team is concerned, the 71-time grand prix winner has thanked his loyal fanbase ahead of what he's described as his favourite track on the calendar.

In a preview of the Belgian GP for his personal website, the four-time champion admitted: "It has been good to have a bit of a break, although Silverstone was a tough weekend."

But it can't have been a long break for the Dutchman who is never far from a simulator: "I have been back at the factory with the team last week on the sim," Verstappen continued.

The reportedly fractured relationship between Red Bull and their star driver came to a head at the British GP last time out after his crash, and this weekend's race at Spa could be what seals the deal for Verstappen to either stay loyal to Red Bull or activate his early exit clause.

Turning his attention to the next round of the championship which is fast-approaching, the 28-year-old added: "Looking to Spa, it is my favourite track on the calendar and is always good to be back. I think it could be trickier with the energy management limitations on the straights but we have historically done well here so you never know what will happen.

"I will be back wearing the special Orange Lion helmet which is a tribute to the fans, who are incredible here and have given me huge support over the years."

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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