Max Verstappen told he may be at fault for ‘obvious’ Red Bull issue that Isack Hadjar is avoiding

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Christian Danner suspects that Red Bull ace Max Verstappen’s driving style could have actually caused his spins during qualifying in Austria and during the British Grand Prix.

Verstappen left Silverstone last Sunday admitting he was feeling “fed up”, after spinning out of the British GP thanks to a suspected issue with the rear wing on his Red Bull RB22. It was a similar, but not identical, problem to the one that caused him to spin during Q3 in Austria.

Red Bull saw their hopes for a home pole position evaporate at the penultimate corner after Verstappen spun during qualifying in Austria. Team boss Laurent Mekies even apologised to the four-time champion for his rear wing not correctly resetting after he used straight mode.

A podium finish at Silverstone also evaporated last Sunday when Verstappen spun out of the British GP into Stowe. The Dutchman once again lost control of the rear of his Red Bull RB22 soon after his rotating rear wing reset, having utilised straight mode on the Hangar Straight.

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Christian Danner suspects Max Verstappen’s driving style does not give Red Bull’s rear wing time to reset

One theory behind Verstappen’s costly spins in Austria and Great Britain is that the time Red Bull’s rotating upper rear wing flap needs to fully reset after using straight mode is not quick enough for the airflow to reattach completely and thus deliver the most downforce possible.

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But Danner points out that Hadjar is not encountering the same problems as Verstappen, so the Dutchman’s driving style may actually be at least partly to blame for the Red Bull racer’s spins. Danner believes Hadjar is not pushing the limits under braking as much as Verstappen does, thus the Frenchman is affording his rear wing a small but useful window to fully reset.

Danner told Motorsport-Magazin: “It looked identical to the accident he had in Austria. It takes a few milliseconds for the downforce to return. It’s almost obvious, after all, they do have a relatively large opening back there. But why isn’t that the case with Hadjar?

“I suspect it’s partly Max’s driving style. Not that I’m blaming him, he drives perfectly. But if someone puts the car completely on the front axle and starts turning in immediately after braking, then they need lateral grip and downforce at the rear axle sooner.

“Hadjar certainly does it a bit more smoothly, and that’s why he has those few extra milliseconds until the downforce is back.”

Verstappen was irate after his spin during the British GP, immediately ranting over Red Bull’s team radio: “F—- this car. Unbelievable. F—- this.” He also declared soon after the race that it was “getting very dangerous for me” to crash twice thanks to an issue with the rear wing.

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Danner understands Verstappen’s frustrations, as it is the “worst thing” possible for a driver to not be able to trust his car to deliver the downforce you expect in fast corners, like Turn 9 at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone’s Stowe where you only tap the brakes before turning in.

Danner added: “The worst thing you can have is losing confidence in the car, especially at the moment when you’re defining your entry speed into the corner.

“That’s the worst thing imaginable, because that’s the greatest moment, when you’re throwing the car into the corner like there’s no tomorrow. For that to happen, the car has to stay on the track, otherwise you lose confidence.”

Were Verstappen to modify his approach and enter high-speed corners with greater caution after using straight mode, like Hadjar appears to be doing, then the Dutchman would not be pushing the Red Bull RB22 like he knows how to and could even find he loses more lap time.

Despite his race-ending spin at Silverstone, Verstappen has scored 76 points so far in 2026 compared to Hadjar’s 52 during the latter’s first year with Red Bull. But that points tally puts Verstappen just seventh in the F1 drivers’ standings, and it is mathematically certain that he will now hit the summer break outside of the top two and able to trigger his release clause.