Max Verstappen: No chance against Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli?

Having already achieved his best result of the season so far at the Red Bull Ring, Max Verstappen warned that a particular challenge awaited the Grand Prix stars at Silverstone. This is because the characteristics of this historic circuit do not sit well with the energy management required by the new generation of cars and engines. And the runner-up in the Austrian Grand Prix also cautioned that his own performance was difficult to predict.

In the first free practice session, the ambitious Red Bull Racing driver then had a difficult session. In the end, he was 0.980 seconds – almost a second – off Lewis Hamilton’s fastest time, leaving the four-time world champion in sixth place. Consequently, the outlook for the Sprint Qualifying, which took place next, was cautiously optimistic.

And at the start, the 71-time Grand Prix winner once again had to settle for sixth place. At least his gap was significantly smaller in SQ1, at 0.416 seconds. Even in the middle segment of the time trial, which determined the starting grid for Saturday’s mini-race, he could not move beyond sixth place. His gap to the fastest time actually widened slightly to 0.495 seconds.

But when it really mattered, the 28-year-old once again demonstrated his talent. He set the third-fastest lap with a time of 1:28.697 minutes, now 0.321 seconds slower than Lewis Hamilton. Kimi Antonelli also finished ahead of him. He was 0.31 seconds off the World Championship leader’s time. He was satisfied with that, as he emphasised after getting out of the car.

“That was probably a good result for us. It was very close, of course; I could have ended up in third, sixth or even further down the order, but this time we were on the right side of things. We were a bit closer, but of course we’re still not where we want to be. We need to improve in the corners as well as with energy management to find a bit more time. We’ll try to do that after the sprint, as there’s not much we can do about it now,” Verstappen summarised.

Topic of the week

From major doubts to a major spectacle: why GP fans have reason to be delighted

Before the start of the season, critical voices dominated, but the World Championship rounds so far have shown that the rule changes are delivering exactly what was hoped for: excitement right up to the final lap.

Read more

TV program

Today

Budapest: Das Rennen Re-Live

FIA Formula One World Championship

26.07.2026 - 17:15

And the driver currently seventh in the World Championship added: “The car felt a bit better than in the first practice session, but even there we’re still not where we want to be. It’s not easy to get the balance into the right window.” Reflecting on his chances of putting pressure on those ahead of him, or even overtaking them, he stated matter-of-factly: “They look a bit too fast for us. And if they’re fast, their team-mates should be too, once things have settled down in the race. That’s why I think it’ll be more of a battle for me with the drivers behind me.”