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Motorsport

Max Verstappen’s low downforce gamble backfired in "horrible" F1 British GP

Max Verstappen Lando Norris Oscar Piastri Red Bull McLaren Red Bull Racing Zak Mauger British Grand Prix LAT Images Silverstone (Organization)

Red Bull's Max Verstappen has said his "horrible" British Grand Prix was even worse than expected as his low downforce wing choice was thwarted by the onset of rain in the Formula 1 contest.

Verstappen changed to a lower downforce rear wing on Saturday to dial out Friday's crippling understeer, and the change allowed him to take a surprise pole ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

But as rain hit Silverstone both before and during the race, that low downforce choice backfired as Verstappen struggle to keep pace with Piastri, spun off the road before a restart and then had a hard time working himself back up the order from 10th to fifth, picking off the likes of Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll towards the end.

Verstappen figured he was going to be in for a tricky afternoon when he saw the weather change, but admitted his British Grand Prix was even more difficult than he expected.

"It wasn't easy, our pace was just not good, already from the start," he told Viaplay. "Oversteer, understeer, ...let's say I really had to hold onto the wheel, otherwise it would have gone wrong many more times.

“Then, of course, I had that spin at the restart. I was kind of in traffic after that, but also I didn't have more pace than anyone around me. That was my pace and that was just not good.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team (Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images)

"It was partly because of the wing levels, but in general we were pretty poor in these low-grip conditions. Just a horrible race."

Asked about his spin before the lap 22 restart, he said: "I don't know. I just got on throttle and the car was gone. I didn't have the speed, and I did the same pace as the guys in front of me.

“Actually, until the weather started to get a bit 50-50 again later on and everyone was going through the tyres, then it got slightly better. But even then, the balance was way off."

But he didn't necessarily feel going to a lower downforce set-up was a mistake, as the weather was dramatically worse than predicted on Sunday.

"The weather forecast overnight just changed a lot," the four-time world champion explained.

"Because up until yesterday, the weather was getting better. Just raining a bit in the morning, and then it would have been fine. And last night, suddenly it just shifted into more severe rain. That can happen.

Lando Norris, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing (Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images)

"I also didn't really have the pace to move forward, which was a bit concerning. But we made the right calls. Stayed calm, stayed out as long as we could with the inters and that was, again, the right call.

“So we ended up fifth, which in hindsight is probably the best we could have done after all the things that happened during the race."

Verstappen remains third in the championship, but he is 69 points behind leader Piastri who finished second in a McLaren 1-2 at Silverstone meaning he is just eight points ahead of Norris.