Red Bull simulator driver predicts two rivals will beat Max Verstappen at Belgian GP

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Max Verstappen is eyeing a fourth consecutive Spa win this weekend. The last driver to achieve this was Ayrton Senna, who did so between 1998 and 1991.

Senna is one of only five drivers with more Belgian Grand Prix wins than Verstappen. The others are Michael Schumacher (six), Jim Clark, Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton (all four).

The race is a particularly special one for the 26-year-old given that he was born in Belgium, even though he races under a Dutch flag. His first win in 2021 was something of a non-event as torrential rain saw half points awarded after a handful of laps behind the safety car.

The following year, Verstappen started down in 14th on the grid thanks to an engine penalty. But in a display of might, he had navigated his way into the lead by lap 18.

And last season, he rallied from a five-place grid drop to win by more than 20 seconds ahead of teammate Sergio Perez. It remains to be seen whether Red Bull take another penalty this year after an engine failure in Canada.

While Spa is clearly a track that’s conducive to overtaking, the Bulls are under pressure. They’ve gone three races without a win for the first time since the end of 2021, with McLaren cutting their constructors’ championship lead to 54 points with a one-two in Hungary.

Rudy van Buren backs McLaren drivers to beat Max Verstappen at Belgian Grand Prix

Speaking on the RacingNews365 podcast, Red Bull simulator and development driver Rudy van Buren backed McLaren to repeat their one-two at Spa. While he thinks Verstappen could secure pole, he expects the Woking outfit to be too strong in the race.

Lando Norris doesn’t have a particularly good record in Belgium up to this point. His best result to date is seventh (2020 and 2023), and he’s finished outside the top 10 on two of his last three visits.

But McLaren have arguably the strongest all-round package on the grid at the moment, allowing them to compete for victory at every kind of track. So even though the Hungaroring demands downforce and Spa is all about power, the MCL38 will still be difficult to beat.

Asked to predict his top five for Sunday’s race, Van Buren said: “Lando wins from Piastri, Max for third, Hamilton fourth, Perez fifth.”

If Van Buren is correct, then Verstappen would likely lead the championship by 66 points heading into the summer break. His advantage was 84 after Silverstone.

How Verstappen was acting in the paddock after Hungary

Red Bull will know a great deal more about their most recent upgrade package after this weekend. Often it takes teams more than one race to fully understand and optimise new components.

Verstappen feels he hasn’t been ‘listened to’ when he’s aired ride quality concerns this year. There are a few corners at Spa where drivers typically make aggressive use of the kerbs – most notably the last chicane – so that could hurt him again.

After the events of Hungary, F1TV pundit Alice Powell spotted Verstappen looking disconsolate in the paddock. His head was down and his cap lowered so as to prevent anyone engaging him in conversation.

Fifth place matched his second-worst result of the season after Monaco (P6). He was involved in a late collision with Hamilton after failing to pass the Mercedes on fresher tyres, but he did escape a penalty.