Max Verstappen explains furious 'unacceptable' gearbox complaints at Belgian GP FP2
Photo: Race Pictures
Updated: 19:02, 17 Jul
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Henry Eccles is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs, and features across the F1 calendar. Since joining in 2026, he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.
Max Verstappen has said his RB22 is in a "decent window" despite a furious radio message from the Dutchman during FP2 at the Belgian GP. Verstappen, who topped the timing charts during the first practice session, crossed the line P3 later on in the afternoon - four tenths behind leader Kimi Antonelli.
Despite an encouraging Friday on paper for the Red Bull driver, especially considering the Milton Keynes team are reverting to a conventional rear wing this weekend amid safety concerns with its 'Macarena' wing, Verstappen was not without his complaints during the later session.
Around 15 minutes into the FP2 session at Spa, a sweary Verstappen complained of "unacceptable" downshifts to his race engineer Gianpiero 'GP' Lambiase. He said: "My God, these **** shifts! Unbelievable, man, why are they so ****?! It’s unacceptable, this. My God.”
Nonetheless, the four-time world champion has not reported any "big problems" when speaking to media post-FP2. Reflecting on his Friday, Verstappen suggested the four tenth gap to Antonelli was a more representative preview of the weekend ahead, with Red Bull struggling on the straights, but "quite okay" in terms of balance.
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Verstappen said: "I mean, it's been alright for me, I didn't really have big problems. The car has been quite in a good window. Probably in FP2 you see a little bit more of the real gap still, but that's nothing shocking or unexpected.
"It's just a bit of a tough track with the energy management as well. It seems like we're a bit slower on the straight compared to some of our competitors. But balance-wise, it's been quite okay."
Verstappen explains furious gearbox message
Photo: Race Pictures
When asked about his tetchy radio message to 'GP,' Verstappen admitted he is "always sensitive" around such issues, pinning the problem down to a software update.
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The Dutchman said: "I'm always very sensitive to these things because I want to work on that and improve it. I think there was like a software update or downgrade that it took a bit of time for the shifts to learn, basically, and then it got a bit better again at the end."
It was then asked to Verstappen whether the downshift issue was just a normal niggle heading into the weekend. "Yeah, some bits were working well and then sometimes it wasn't working, but overall the car has been in a decent window," Verstappen concluded.
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Belgian Grand Prix
Overview
Friday 17.07.26
Practice 1
11:30 AM
Practice 2
03:00 PM
Saturday 18.07.26
Practice 3
10:30 AM
Qualification
02:00 PM
Sunday 19.07.26
Race
01:00 PM
Friday 17.07.26
Practice 1
Fri 11:30 AM
Practice 2
Fri 03:00 PM
Saturday 18.07.26
Practice 3
Sat 10:30 AM
Qualification
Sat 02:00 PM
Sunday 19.07.26
Race
Sun 01:00 PM
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F1-stand 2026
Season
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | MercedesMER | 179 | |
2 | MercedesMER | 154 | |
3 | FerrariFER | 147 | |
4 | FerrariFER | 108 | |
5 | McLarenMCL | 97 | |
6 | McLarenMCL | 82 | |
7 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 76 | |
8 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 52 | |
9 | AlpineALP | 42 | |
10 | Racing BullsRCB | 39 |
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