Russell 'infuriated' by straight-line issue that leaves him 'powerless'

Verstappen's remarks are a reflection of the fact that F1 as a sport has recognised that the current engines are flawed, and that mistakes were made in the regulation process.

Steps have already been taken this year to improve the situation, and more will be taken in the next two years by adjusting the ratio of the internal combustion to electrical power from close to 50:50 to 60:40 in two steps by 2028.

Williams driver Carlos Sainz said: "No one is enjoying the qualifying lap as much as last year. It is clear we have lost quite a bit with these cars around Spa.

"Having said that, I don't want to keep belittling my own sport, because it is not going to do any good.

"We all know this is not good enough, it needs to change, it will change, it will evolve. Hopefully next year it is a step better, and the year after another step better and the year after another step better.

"But whoever saw these simulations in 2022 and 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."

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said that the rules had positives as well as negatives, as the varying states of electrical charge, and the ability of the drivers to choose when to deploy energy, had led to a significant increase in overtaking, even if this is not always what most would regard as "pure racing".

Stella said: "Some of the circuits, which are particularly long, very demanding in terms of electrical energy, they do change their character. This we have to acknowledge.

"Some improvements have been applied at the start of the season to minimise that. They have made the situation a little better. But it's important that we implement the changes for 2027 to see these trades coming back, which will not be to a full extent because there will be some limitations in terms of energy deployment. So somehow we'll have to kind of get used to it.

"And on the other side, we'll have to see what incrementally we (can) keep improving in these power-unit regulations such that we can retain the character of some challenging corners where, if you don't approach fast, the corner is no longer a corner, because one can be a corner at 280/290km/h but if you approach it at 270, it's a flat corner and relatively easy.

"These regulations have also brought some new features in the way we go racing. Some may like it, some may not. But we see many overtakings. And this overtaking, if you want, is the flip side of the energy starvation.

"So there's a few aspects, some of them to be improved, some of them to be protected."