F1 champion Max Verstappen left speechless over FIA decision on Red Bull

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen left speechless over FIA decision on Red Bull

Max Verstappen finished third at the Belgian Grand Prix

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 20 July 2026 19:12

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Four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen has been left with no words as to how Red Bull were told by the FIA that they have the best engine on the grid.

Verstappen managed to claim a podium at the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend, with Red Bull performing better throughout the weekend than they have done at recent tracks.

With the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps being such a high-speed circuit, it was thought that teams who had a strong power unit would be the teams who would perform the best this weekend, and that came true with both Mercedes and Red Bull leading the way in qualifying.

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But in the race, an unfortunately-timed virtual safety car made it difficult for Verstappen to challenge Ferrari's Charles Leclerc for second place, but he did achieve Red Bull's 300th podium as a constructor.

And after the race, he seemed to question an FIA ruling.

The FIA's additional development and upgrade opportunities (ADUO) scheme was brought in at the start of the season to try to help struggling power unit manufacturers catch up.

But remarkably, when the first ADUO window opened back in June, the FIA ruled that Red Bull - and not Mercedes - had the best power unit, allowing Mercedes to bring an upgrade to their power unit despite having won all six of the grands prix that had taken place in 2026 up to that point.

Verstappen wants a new engine upgrade

As a result of the ADUO ruling, Red Bull have not been able to bring an upgrade to their power unit, with it being determined to be the best already. The Belgian GP proved that they did indeed have a strong power unit, but Verstappen was still a long way from the pace of Mercedes' race winner Kimi Antonelli.

Verstappen spoke about this after the race, stating that an engine upgrade would go down a treat for the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

"I think it would have been a battle probably with Charles for a second without a virtual safety car," Verstappen told Sky Sports' Craig Slater about his race. "But I mean, for me, it's been quite a straightforward weekend. Nothing too crazy.

"The race pace was alright. Still struggling a bit with balance, little balance problems to go faster in the race. But yeah, in general, the weekend was nice. So I think that that is also a positive.

"I mean, I would also love an engine upgrade. Yeah, that's not in my hands."

Slater then pointed out to Verstappen that he has the fastest power unit, according to the FIA's ADUO ruling, to which the four-time world champion replied: "Yeah, I mean meant to be, but when you look at qualifying, it doesn't really look like it, does it? So I don't know what to say."