F1 Today | Verstappen issues Silverstone battery warning, Ecclestone questions Ferrari

Formula 1 has just come off an action-packed weekend at the Red Bull Ring, where Mercedes emerged on top on Red Bull's home turf. However, the Milton Keynes-based team returned to the fight for victory, with Verstappen finishing second after closing to within striking distance of race winner George Russell in the closing stages.

Speaking after the Austrian Grand Prix, Verstappen predicted that Silverstone could prove particularly challenging under the 2026 regulations, with battery management set to become a major talking point throughout the weekend. The four-time world champion explained that, unlike circuits with long straights followed by heavy braking zones where drivers can recover energy, Silverstone's high-speed layout offers far fewer opportunities to recharge the battery.

As a result, he expects the cars to spend much of the lap running with limited available energy, making the experience feel very different from what drivers have been used to at the British circuit in previous years. After completing a few laps in the simulator, Verstappen admitted the characteristics of the new cars at Silverstone even caught him by surprise.

"I love the track, but I did a few laps on the simulator, I just started laughing," he said. "It felt like a different track, to be honest. You barely have battery around the lap. It’s just constantly flat. So yes, it’s going to feel very different compared to what we are used to around Silverstone, because of the layout of the track. Here you have long straights and big braking zones, so you can charge the battery. There you have long straights but in a fast corner, for example, so you can’t really charge the batteries, and then the next straight you don’t have a lot to spend. It’s going to be a tough one."

Speaking during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, Ecclestone claimed Ferrari's long-standing struggles are rooted in the way the team is managed, arguing that too many Italian figures are involved in the decision-making process instead of having a single person taking responsibility for the key calls.

According to the former Formula 1 supremo, a clearer leadership structure would allow the team to operate more effectively, regardless of whether every decision ultimately proves to be the right one. Ecclestone also revealed that he had previously tried to convince former Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner to take charge at Ferrari.