Max Verstappen shares his view on how a dry Silverstone race could have gone for him

Max Verstappen believes that even in dry conditions, beating McLaren at the 2025 British Grand Prix would have been a tall order. Speaking to media, including Sportskeeda, after the race, the Dutchman admitted that Red Bull’s decision to opt for a low-downforce rear wing ultimately made his Sunday much more difficult.

While the Monza-style setup helped Verstappen secure pole position, the team had not anticipated the changing weather that soaked Silverstone on race day. With parc fermé regulations locking in the setup post-qualifying, the reigning champion was stuck with a configuration that proved difficult to manage in damp conditions. A spin at the first safety car restart dropped him to tenth, and while he fought back through the field, he could only salvage fifth place.

Reflecting on the race, Max Verstappen acknowledged that even with a more balanced rear wing or fully dry conditions, the McLarens would have been hard to beat. He felt that Red Bull’s updates were a step forward, but not enough to match the pace of their Woking-based rivals. The Dutchman admitted the rear wing hurt his performance, particularly in the wet, but conceded that McLaren’s form made victory unlikely regardless of the conditions.

Asked by Sportskeeda where he would have ended up if the conditions were dry and it weren’t for his rear wing, Max Verstappen replied:

“Yeah. I have no idea. I mean, maybe a bit better, but if you look again at the pace of the McLarens were today, I think that's very hard to beat.”

Asked if it all came down to the rear wing not being the right one, he replied:

"The rear wing, for sure, made everything a lot more complicated. But overall, I think, even if we had, let's say, a little bit more downforce on the car, we would not be fighting with McLaren, that's for sure.”

Asked if he was satisfied with the updates on the RB21, Max Verstappen said:

“The updates work, sure, but it's not enough, we know that.”

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Max Verstappen believes that the weather ruined his race and not Oscar Piastri

Max Verstappen at the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain - Source: Getty

Max Verstappen dismissed any suggestion that Oscar Piastri’s sudden braking under the safety car was the reason for his spin later on the same lap during the 2025 British Grand Prix. The Dutchman clarified that while he had to take evasive action due to Piastri slowing dramatically, it was not the trigger for his incident.

Verstappen believes the real cause of the spin was a combination of cold tyres and a low-downforce setup that was ill-suited for the damp conditions. He explained that Red Bull had committed to the low-downforce rear wing to secure pole position, but did not anticipate the scale of rain that hit Silverstone on race day. The reigning champion admitted that the late and unexpected weather shift caught both him and the team off guard, undermining their race strategy.

Asked if his spin was related to Piastri braking during the race behind the safety car, Max Verstappen said:

“I don't think so. I mean, I just tried to go on throttle, but the car has been really difficult already. Up until that point, we're just trying to find a nice rhythm and it just caught me out on cold tires.”

Asked if it was a bit risky to go for the setup given the weather, Max Verstappen said:

“The weather forecast overnight just changed a lot because up until yesterday, the weather was getting better. Like it was just actually just raining a bit in the morning and then it would be fine. And last night suddenly, yeah, it just shifted into more severe rain. That can happen.”

Max Verstappen currently sits third in the driver’s championship with 165 points, while Red Bull trails in fourth in the constructors’ standings with a total of 172 points. The four-time world champion has expressed frustration with the RB21’s performance and hinted that contending for the 2025 title may not be a realistic goal given the car’s current limitations.

Adding to the uncertainty, Red Bull made a seismic leadership change following the British Grand Prix, releasing long-serving Team Principal and CEO Christian Horner and appointing Laurent Mekies in his place. With 12 races still to go, senior advisor Helmut Marko has reaffirmed that chasing the driver’s championship remains Red Bull’s objective.

However, with the departure of Horner, who played a central role in shaping the team’s technical and operational direction, the team now faces the challenge of recalibrating under new leadership. Whether they can regroup quickly enough to mount a title charge remains one of the biggest questions heading into the second half of the season.

Edited by Tushhita Barua