Red Bull make major change directly impacting Max Verstappen's Belgian GP chances

Red Bull have made a key change to their car that will impact Max Verstappen's chances of success at the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend.

Verstappen has endured a disastrous F1 campaign, currently sitting in seventh position in the Drivers' Championship, and his woes were compounded last time out.

The Dutchman was chasing down second-place Lewis Hamilton when he suffered a DNF at the British Grand Prix after losing control of his car due to a rear wing failure with only four laps remaining.

The 28-year-old, who has directed his issues towards the Red Bull car on several occasions in 2026, couldn't control his anger after also crashing in qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix the weekend before.

"It's super-dangerous because you can really hurt yourself two times," Verstappen said. "I was lucky in Austria, I was lucky here. That's why you get really fed up with it."

Verstappen's rear wing failed to close properly when straight-line mode switched off on corner entry, and as there are five designated Straight Mode zones at Spa this weekend, Red Bull are switching to a conventional rear wing.

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said the team had discovered a problem with their previous wing in tests since the race at Silverstone, confirming the news to BBC Sport.

Mekies wouldn't elaborate on how the problem was caused, but it is believed to be related to an airflow issue not fully reattaching fast enough when the wing closes.

"It's quite obvious why. We will go back on the old one and see whenever the new one is ready again to be used by us," Verstappen said at Spa on Thursday, with the four-time world champion hoping this change improves his car's performance.

Verstappen has only achieved two podiums in this campaign, one at Canada in May, and the other at the Austria Grand Prix in June.

READ MORE: Why Belgian Grand Prix at iconic Spa could be the worst race of the season

Max Verstappen shares update on future

A huge issue for the Dutchman and almost every driver this season has been the change to engine regulations by removing DRS in favour of a bigger battery pack and an 'overtake' mode.

Verstappen has expressed his anger on numerous occasions with the direction the sport is heading towards, even claiming that these new regulations make it feel like 'Mario Kart'.

As a result, the talented driver has even spoken about the possibility of retirement or moving on from Red Bull due to the frustrations he's felt towards the car.

He has an array of exit clauses in his contract, and the trigger point for one of those is in October, allowing him to leave Red Bull before his contract expires in 2028.

Verstappen has been heavily linked with a switch to McLaren in a potential swap deal with Oscar Piastri. It's a discussion that has dominated the headlines in recent weeks, and he's since offered an insight into how he's feeling ahead of the race at Spa.

"Now we’re just looking to the future trying to fix current issues that we have on the car, but that's an open discussion,” he said. “Yes, sometimes you get a little bit disappointed or upset after a race, but for example after Silverstone, you go home and you reset.

“On Wednesday I was back at the factory and then you prepare again for the weekends ahead. That's how I've been operating in all the years together. And of course, some years are just a little bit more competitive than others, but in terms of my approach and how we work as a team, nothing really changes."

Verstappen's mood has improved since spinning out at Silverstone, and he will hope this continues at the Belgian Grand Prix.