Verstappen reverts to old rear wing after successive crashes

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium, July 16 : Red Bull have reverted to a conventional rear wing for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix after four-time world champion Max Verstappen suffered successive high-speed crashes in Austria and Britain.The Dutch driver slammed the behaviour of his car’s wing at Silverstone as “super


Sport

Verstappen reverts to old rear wing after successive crashes

Verstappen reverts to old rear wing after successive crashes

Formula One F1 – Belgian Grand Prix – Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium – July 16, 2026 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen during the press conference ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

Verstappen reverts to old rear wing after successive crashes

Formula One F1 – Belgian Grand Prix – Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium – July 16, 2026 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen during the press conference ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

Read a summary of this article on FAST.

Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.

Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST

FAST

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium, July 16 : Red Bull have reverted to a conventional rear wing for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix after four-time world champion Max Verstappen suffered successive high-speed crashes in Austria and Britain.

The Dutch driver slammed the behaviour of his car’s wing at Silverstone as “super-dangerous” after he crashed out while chasing third place.

“We’ll go back to the old one and then see whenever the latest, or new one, is ready again to be used for us,” he said at Spa-Francorchamps on Thursday.

Ferrari, and then Red Bull, have caught eyes with a novel ‘Macarena’ rear wing that features a top flap rotating through 180 degrees in straight-line mode for more speed.

Guess Word

Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time


Buzzword

Buzzword
Create words using the given letters


Mini Sudoku

Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser


Mini Crossword

Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge


Word Search

Word Search
Spot as many words as you can


Show More


Show Less

McLaren have also been experimenting with something similar.

Verstappen’s team boss Laurent Mekies told the BBC that Red Bull had found a problem with the wing in tests after Silverstone.

The 28-year-old driver said after this month’s British Grand Prix, the race before Spa, that “while turning into the corner, the rear wing is not fully attaching, and you lose a lot of downforce for that. You just spin off the track.”

“At this point, it’s super dangerous because I could have really hurt myself two times. I was lucky in Austria; I was lucky here. But that’s why you get really fed up with it.”

Verstappen’s French teammate Isack Hadjar, who did not experience the same problems, said he hoped the ditched wing could return soon.

“I guess I got lucky for two rounds in a row,” he said. “It could have happened to none of us and it could have happened four times to the both of us.”

Spa is a favourite track and almost a home race for Belgian-born Verstappen, who has won there three times.

Asked about his prospects this time, with Red Bull fourth in the standings, the driver left it open.

“Let’s see tomorrow, to be honest. I don’t know how we are going to perform. It’s as simple as that,” he said.

“It’s better not to think about it too much and just go out.”

Source: Reuters

Sign up for our newsletters

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Inbox

Get the CNA app

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Get WhatsApp alerts

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

Whatsapp

Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.

Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST

FAST

About The Author

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About the Author

Easy WordPress Websites Builder: Versatile Demos for Blogs, News, eCommerce and More – One-Click Import, No Coding! 1000+ Ready-made Templates for Stunning Newspaper, Magazine, Blog, and Publishing Websites.

BlockSpare — News, Magazine and Blog Addons for (Gutenberg) Block Editor

Search the Archives

Access over the years of investigative journalism and breaking reports