Verstappen, Norris and Sainz criticise 2026 F1 power levels at Spa

When multiple drivers independently reach for the same comparison — F3, F4, Formula 2 — it stops being venting and starts being a technical indictment. The specific grievance at Spa is the energy-depleted middle sector, where the hybrid system contributes little and combustion output alone leaves cars somewhere between 450 and 620bhp through corners that used to define the circuit. Sainz's GPDA framing sharpens it further: he's not just complaining as a driver, he's asking how the simulations from 2022-23 were ever signed off. The fact that Verstappen qualified second and still couldn't soften his view tells you this isn't a performance gripe — it's a driving-experience one, and that distinction matters for how the sport reads its own regulations going forward.