Verstappen fears Spa magic will be missing this season as he delivers sarcastic verdict

After contending for the victory in Austria, Verstappen and Red Bull were unable to mount a challenge at Silverstone, with the four-time world champion scoring no points after a late spin.

Multiple drivers have warned that even more energy management can be expected of drivers at the Belgian Grand Prix and speaking after his accident at Silverstone, Verstappen delivered a sarcastic verdict when asked about the next race at Spa, and also the Italian Grand Prix in September.

"Spa and Monza are going to be great, yeah," Verstappen told the media sarcastically after the British Grand Prix. "And that's a real shame because Spa is obviously one of my favourite tracks. But this year it's going to feel very different."

Verstappen's comments were backed by Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies, who told the media, including GPblog, that they needed to use the British Grand Prix to help "make a small step forward" on similar tracks going forward. He added: "This sort of energy starving track there maybe hardware limitations but I equally know that the team is extraordinary at running fast. So I hope we can be in a slightly better shape at Spa, but from a (track) character perspective it should be quite similar to here."

Heading into next week's Belgian Grand Prix, speculation continues to mount over Verstappen's future following his DNF at the British Grand Prix.

A photo this week shared by De Telegraaf shows Verstappen's manager, Raymond Vermeulen, meeting Jos Verstappen and former Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko in the Netherlands, amid rumors surrounding the four-time world champion's future. After a DNF caused by the RB22's rear wing at Silverstone, Verstappen can now activate an exit clause in his contract, as he will not be in the top two of the drivers' standings heading into the summer break. The driver would have to inform the team of his decision by October at the latest.

GPblog reported last week that various sources in the paddock were pointing to an imminent announcement of a deal between Verstappen and McLaren. During the British Grand Prix weekend, McLaren CEO Zak Brown said that he was happy with his current driver lineup of reigning world champion Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.