Same problem. Same outcome. Different apology. Max Verstappen was robbed of a well-earned podium at the British Grand Prix when his RB22’s rear wing failed to close properly at Stowe, pitching him into the gravel on lap 48. It was almost identical to his Austria qualifying crash just a week before. Red Bull had said they fixed it. They had not.
A Failure Red Bull Had Already Promised Was Behind Them
Verstappen was blunt in the immediate aftermath. “Same as Austria,” he said. “The rear wing wasn’t fully closing again. Different fault, same outcome.” That single sentence should haunt the Red Bull engineering department for weeks. The team had publicly stated the Austria issue was resolved. What happened at Silverstone was not a freak occurrence; it was a recurring, potentially dangerous, reliability failure on a car that was already struggling to inspire confidence.
Verstappen called the RB22 “super dangerous” and he is not wrong. Losing significant downforce at high speed on the approach to a braking zone is not a setup quirk. It is a safety issue dressed up as a technical problem.
Red Bull Ignored the Driver, Then Apologised to Him
Before the race, Verstappen had demanded a pit lane start to allow a power unit change and set-up revision. Red Bull refused. He started seventh, as instructed, and drove brilliantly to reach third place. Then the car threw him into the gravel anyway. His verdict over team radio was unprintable but entirely understandable.
“We had a problem with the rear wing, so this lies completely with us. We apologised to Max. It is unfortunately not the first time we have had a similar problem that causes him to fly off the track.” – Laurent Mekies
Mekies added that a podium was very much on the cards, that Verstappen had been “absolutely strong” on the mediums, and that Red Bull had “thrown it away themselves.” Credit for the honesty. None whatsoever for the engineering.
The Exit Clause Is Now Live
The consequence that matters most is this: Verstappen cannot mathematically reach the top two in the championship before the summer break, which means his contract exit clause is now activated. He has until October to decide whether to trigger it. With Ferrari and Mercedes both locked up for 2027, McLaren remain the primary alternative, though whether that is a step up is genuinely debatable.
Verstappen’s response when asked if he would speak to Red Bull this week was short and telling: “I want nothing to do with it for now.”
A Crisis Hiding Behind Progress
Red Bull are improving. The car is faster than it was in the opening rounds. But faster and reliable are two very different things, and Verstappen’s qualifying disaster at Silverstone and this race retirement paint a picture of a team that is still one failure mode away from catastrophe on any given weekend.
Mekies and Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff met with Jos Verstappen and manager Raymond Vermeulen in the paddock after the race. There is a lot of ground to recover, and very little time before Verstappen makes a decision that could reshape the entire driver market.
Red Bull need to give him a reason to stay. Right now, their rear wing is giving him rather more compelling reasons to leave.
