Red Bull announce major F1 U-turn after Max Verstappen complaints

Verstappen in Red Bull t-shirt with black, yellow and red Belgian flag background — Photo: © IMAGO

Belgian Grand Prix

Red Bull announce major F1 U-turn after Max Verstappen complaints

This will be a welcome change for Verstappen in Spa

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Friday 17 July 2026 08:12

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Red Bull F1 team principal Laurent Mekies has confirmed a move away from a technical approach that has not served Max Verstappen well on track in 2026.

The Dutchman heads to the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend way down in P7 in the drivers' championship, sparking conversation over whether he will activate his performance-based contract clause.

Should Verstappen not sit within the top two of the standings by the time the summer break rolls around following next weekend's race in Hungary, he will be allowed to trigger an early exit from his Red Bull contract.

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Though he is currently set to race for the energy drink giants until the end of 2028, the 28-year-old has been at the centre of rumours concerning a potential driver swap with McLaren and Oscar Piastri.

Though McLaren have denied these reports and Verstappen has been consistent with refusing to comment on his future during Thursday's media day at Spa, the questions regarding his decision have persisted, especially considering his Red Bull machinery has caused him to crash twice in as many race weekends.

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Red Bull confirm choice to abandon 'super-dangerous' F1 wing

Ahead of this weekend's race at Spa-Francorchamps, Verstappen's team boss Mekies has confirmed to BBC Sport that Red Bull will not be using the 'macarena' rear wing which caused the Dutchman's recent incidents.

Instead, the team will be reverting to a wing that opens for straight-line mode in standard fashion, with Mekies also revealing the team had discovered an issue with their design during tests that took place after Silverstone.

At both the Austrian GP during Saturday's qualifying and in the dying moments of the British GP last time out, Verstappen was involved in a session-ending crash.

Following the incident in front of Red Bull management at the team's home track in Styria, Mekies apologised to Verstappen, noting that Red Bull took full responsibility for the cause of the crash.

When Ferrari first introduced their 'macarena' wing earlier this year, it appeared to improve their performance drastically, but since Red Bull have trialled their own version of the design, it has brought trouble.

Both of Verstappen's recent incidents have been related to the way the wing closed upon entry to two high-speed corners, with the four-time champion labelling the problem with the wing as 'super dangerous'.

Speaking to media at Spa on Thursday, Verstappen said of the decision: "It's quite obvious why."

He then refused to rule out the option to return to the design if Red Bull manage to fix the issue, concluding: "We will go back on the old one and see whenever the new one is ready again to be used by us."

Reports of an investigation from F1's governing body into the 'macarena' rear wing spread recently, but GPFans understands the FIA did not get to the 'investigation' stage, and instead encouraged Ferrari and Red Bull to offer up more information about their designs.