Max Verstappen experienced two consecutive crashes caused by rear wing failures on his Red Bull car during the Austrian Grand Prix qualifying and the British Grand Prix race at Silverstone in early July 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4]. The rear wing failed to close properly on corner entry, causing a sudden loss of downforce and high-speed spins off the track [1, 2, 3, 4]. "While turning into the corner, the rear wing is not fully attaching, and you lose a lot of downforce for that. You just spin off the track," Verstappen explained [2].
During the Austrian GP qualifying weekend around July 2, Verstappen spun off after the rear wing issue but managed to recover and finish second in the race [1, 2, 3, 4]. However, at the British Grand Prix on July 5, a similar rear wing failure caused Verstappen to spin out from a podium position, leading to his retirement and a race finish under the safety car [1, 2, 3, 5, 4]. Charles Leclerc won that race ahead of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton [5].
Verstappen expressed strong frustration with the recurring problem. He swore repeatedly over the radio after the British crash, saying, "I'm stuck, mate. F--- this car, f---! Unbelievable. F--- this." [5] He called the failures "super-dangerous because you can really hurt yourself two times. I was lucky in Austria, I was lucky here. That's why you get really fed up with it." [1]
Currently, Verstappen ranks seventh in the drivers' championship, 103 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes after nine races [1]. He said the ongoing car issues have affected him mentally: "I need a few days to reset and try again." [1, 4]
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies acknowledged the problem and said, "He's right not to be happy. It is very unpleasant for drivers to be let down by the car in high-speed corners in two consecutive races, be it for two different reasons." [2] Mekies promised the team would implement measures to prevent the rear wing failure happening again. "I have no doubt that the team will put in place what is necessary for that not to happen again, even if we failed to do that today, and we take that as seriously as one can do." [3]
Verstappen’s focus now shifts to addressing the technical fault and preparing for the next race weekend after two high-profile incidents caused by the rear wing failures.
