Max Verstappen feels the 2026 Formula 1 drivers have comparable levels of horsepower to Formula 3 drivers in the middle sector at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Verstappen, who has been critical of this year's rules, wasn't dramatically lambasting the regulations at Spa - even saying he didn't want to keep saying negative things about them - but couldn't hide his displeasure when asked what they've done to one of his favourite circuits.

As has been the case previously in 2026, a strong result - second in qualifying at Spa - did little to soften Verstappen's view of the regulations.

"For most of sector two, you run just on the engine. So, what is that? 450bhp, 500bhp? Something like that, which is, I guess, less or more or less what a Formula 3 car has but with F1 downforce," Verstappen said. "So, you can imagine, of course, that that is not very exciting to drive.

"But honestly, I don't want to sit here and complain again, because probably someone will shoot me outside the door.

"But like I said before, I'm mentally just adjusting to it. I'm trying to make the best out of it.

"Even though, of course, it's not what I like, not what I love to do in Formula 1. But I can also sit at home and drive nothing. But that also doesn't do anything.

"So, I'm just trying my best."

The 2026 F1 cars can theoretically produce around 1000bhp in ideal conditions, though when energy-starved, as they are for much of the lap at Spa, they are more akin to Formula 2 (620bhp) cars. Verstappen's F3 car comparison - they have around 380bhp - would be on the extreme end.

Ahead of the weekend, Lando Norris said "you are not even driving a Formula 2 car, you are driving a Formula 4 car" when the F1 cars transition from straight mode to corner mode at Spa, unrelated to the power unit.

That makes the active aero wings closing at Blanchimont particularly painful for the drivers, as there's a sudden speed drop between the two straight mode zones that sandwich it despite there being no braking zone.

Norris's team-mate Oscar Piastri was asked about Blanchimont after qualifying but he pointed to another corner that he felt had been ruined.

"Pouhon was pretty nasty as well, or it's probably more appropriate calling it 'the bend in the straight' because it's not a corner anymore," Piastri said.

"[It's] a shame because one, it's always been a great corner, and [two] it's always been a good corner for me as well.

"It's strange just with how different things are this year, and also the power you have out of the corners.

"A lot of the places now, we only have the combustion engine giving us power, so you come out of some corners with close to 1000bhp, you come out of others with 550bhp, 600bhp, whatever it is, so getting your head around that is pretty tough.

"So it's definitely been more challenging in some ways, but it's been a pretty different Spa to years [previously]."

Ollie Bearman was more diplomatic, saying: "It was a classic and fun track [previously], this year it's a bit less interesting and fun to drive, but that's what we have."

Sainz wonders how F1 got here

Grand Prix Drivers' Association director Carlos Sainz said "no one out there is enjoying the qualifying lap as much as we did last year".

Like Verstappen he expressed restraint: "Having said that, I don't want to keep belittling my own sport because it's not going to do any good.

"I think we all know this is not good enough. That needs to change. It will change. It will evolve. But yeah, hopefully next year is a step better and the year after another step better.

"But whoever saw these simulations in 2022, 2023 and didn’t look at it and say, 'How can we even accept that?' needs to review what happened there because it should have never happened.

"But now we're here, we're having some exciting races, the sport is still growing, so time to move on."