Silverstone revealed early problems with Formula 1’s 2026 regulation changes, as three of last season’s top title contenders—Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, and Oscar Piastri—fell behind in qualifying.
On Saturday, the trio secured sixth through eighth on the grid, nearly eight-tenths of a second slower than polesitter Kimi Antonelli. Their performance highlighted the distance the new cars and power units still need to cover, even for teams that dominated the 2025 championship.
Verstappen faced two main issues: a lack of power and an uncooperative car. “The car, yesterday, was already not great,” he said. “Today we didn’t really seem to make an improvement, so it was pretty much the same. But at the same time, also very slow on the straight.”
A battery drain in the final sector worsened his struggles. “Out of Turn 15, there is no power, so I just kept losing a lot on the straights,” he explained. “Plus a bad balance, so it was just very, very poor.”
His teammate, Isack Hadjar, had a much cleaner session to take fifth spot. “It’s just not going forward; it’s not pulling the same as what it was,” Verstappen said. “On a track like this, where that is key, you need as much power as you can, and it’s even extra painful.”
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The handling problems were equally obvious. “In the sprint race, we were getting destroyed in the very high-speed,” Verstappen noted. “I had George [Russell] behind me, who was catching me in dirty air in the high-speed, so that says quite a lot.”
His verdict on the weekend was direct: “There’s actually no point to race, I guess.”
Norris and Piastri, both driving for McLaren, encountered similar difficulties. The team’s MCL40 wore a special white-and-green livery to honor Bruce McLaren’s 1966 Monaco debut, but the car’s performance fell short of expectations.
“Just tough, we still don’t have any pace,” Norris admitted. “It was seven-tenths off pole, and I thought my lap was pretty amazing. I was very happy with my lap, improved in every single corner, and I felt like I got everything out of the car. So we’re just slow.”
The problem wasn’t the Mercedes power unit but a lack of aerodynamic efficiency. Silverstone’s high-speed corners and gusty winds exposed the car’s limitations, making it difficult for Norris and Piastri to maintain control.
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Last year, these drivers won most of the races. Now, their teams must identify and resolve the issues before the next event.
For Verstappen, the struggles may fuel speculation about his future. His name has been linked to McLaren for 2028, though this weekend’s results provided little confidence, regardless of the team.
The 2026 season was intended to create closer competition. Instead, it has shown how much development is still required before the new cars deliver the racing promised to fans.
Silverstone’s lesson was simple: even elite drivers can’t overcome a flawed design. At times, Lando’s teammate Piastri was visible struggling with the car’s behavior.