Max Verstappen has recently spoken about the emotional impact of being away from his daughter, Lily, during Formula 1 race weekends. The four-time world champion shared insights into his family life during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend at Spa-Francorchamps. Verstappen and partner Kelly Piquet welcomed Lily, their first child together, in May 2025. Lily was born on April 25, 2025, with Verstappen confirming her arrival in Miami shortly after.
Verstappen revealed that he receives videos of Lily, who is now one year old and can walk and talk, searching for him in his trophy room at home. He described the emotional effect of these videos, stating they make him want to return home as quickly as possible. This personal reflection highlights the challenges of the demanding F1 schedule for drivers with young families.
The comments from Verstappen emerged as the Formula 1 paddock gathered for the Belgian Grand Prix, where he qualified second at Spa-Francorchamps. Kimi Antonelli secured pole position, with Verstappen finishing 0.317 seconds behind after utilising a tow from Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar on his final Q3 lap.
Despite securing a front-row start, Verstappen expressed dissatisfaction with the experience of driving the circuit under the new 2026 regulations. He stated that the new rules have created ‘a different Spa,’ particularly through the high-speed middle sector. Verstappen has been a vocal critic of the 2026 power unit regulations since the season began.
The 2026 power units rely significantly more on electrical energy, requiring drivers to manage deployment and harvesting throughout the lap. Spa-Francorchamps, with its long straights and high-speed corners, was expected to present considerable challenges under these new rules. Verstappen noted that the car relies almost entirely on its internal combustion engine through much of the second sector.
This results in dramatically reduced power, comparable to a Formula 3 car, but with Formula 1 levels of downforce. Verstappen jokingly remarked that he was reluctant to complain further, suggesting ‘probably someone will shoot me outside the door’ if he continued his criticism. He indicated he is mentally adjusting to the car’s characteristics.
In a significant technical development for Red Bull, the team opted to remove its ‘Macarena wing’ for the Belgian Grand Prix. This decision followed two high-speed crashes for Verstappen in qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix and during the race at the British Grand Prix. Both incidents were attributed to failures in the rear wing’s active aerodynamic mechanism.
The ‘Macarena wing’ design, which allows the upper element to rotate for drag reduction, had been problematic for Red Bull. Team Principal Laurent Mekies confirmed that engineers identified the issue after the Silverstone weekend. Red Bull has reverted to a conventional rear wing while modifications are considered for the experimental design.
Furthermore, Red Bull Racing has appointed Tom Hart as the successor to Gianpiero Lambiase as Max Verstappen’s race engineer. Lambiase is set to depart Red Bull to join McLaren in a senior position from the 2028 season. Hart, who has served as Verstappen’s performance engineer since January 2020, is expected to gradually transition into the race engineer role.
This transition is anticipated to involve Hart taking over communications on several occasions later this season to ensure a smooth handover. The internal appointment of Hart ensures continuity within Verstappen’s engineering team at Red Bull.
