What Spa revealed about the 2026 cars: power, corners, and the racing product

Spa has delivered one of the clearest early reality checks on the 2026 Formula 1 cars, and the debate emerging from it is not flattering. Max Verstappen’s observation that 2026 F1 drivers have comparable levels of horsepower to F3 drivers in Spa’s middle sector distils the main criticism in one phrase: at one of F1’s most iconic high-speed circuits, the new package is being judged not only on lap time, but on how it feels when the cars are at their most exposed.

That matters because Spa is not a theoretical test case. Its best corners demand commitment, energy deployment and car control in a way that quickly reveals whether the 2026 regulations are creating a richer driving challenge or flattening the experience. The Race’s trackside assessment by Ben Anderson, who has been one of the publication’s biggest critics of the new cars, asks the practical question from the circuit edge: what have the 2026 rules actually done to Spa’s best corners, and what does that mean for the quality of the spectacle?

The answer in the source material is not a simple verdict. But the significance of the complaints is clear. Verstappen’s focus on horsepower feel in the middle sector points to one of the key issues in the new rules: the relationship between power delivery, deployment and the way a lap breathes across a long, fast circuit. If the drivers are feeling the cars are underpowered in the parts of Spa where they expect the biggest commitment, that changes the rhythm of the lap as much as it changes the headline speed.

That is why the trackside impression matters so much. A technical judgement on the 2026 cars is not just about whether they are quicker or slower in absolute terms. It is about whether the corners still reward the same level of bravery, whether the energy deployment gives the driver something meaningful to manage, and whether the flow between corner entry, traction and straight-line performance still feels like Formula 1 should. Spa has always been a circuit that exposes that balance quickly, because a car that looks acceptable elsewhere can feel starkly different once the track opens up.