Such was the lack of battery power that Silverstone simulator run had Mad Verstappen in hysterics.

For a while it appeared that the early season issues resulting from the rules overhaul had gone away, but according to the four-time world champion we're about to see their return.

It was already feared that tracks like Monza, with its, long, long straights, would see drivers struggling to recharge their batteries, but following his impressive podium finish in Austria, Verstappen warned fans to expect more of the same this weekend.

Asked if he felt he could challenge for the win at some of the upcoming races, the Dutchman, a long-time critic of the rules overhaul, replied: "Let's take it race by race.

"Silverstone," he continued, "I love the track, but I did a few laps on the simulator and I just started laughing," he admitted.

"It felt like a different track, to be honest, you barely have battery around the lap.

"It's just constantly flat," he explained. "So it's going to feel very different compared to what we are used to around Silverstone, because of the layout of the track.

"Here you have long straights and big braking zones, so you can charge the battery," he said, referring to the Red Bull Ring. "There you have long straights but in a fast corner, for example, so you can't really charge the batteries, and then the next straight you don't have a lot energy] to spend.

"It's going to be a tough one," he warned.

While the Dutchman has only won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone once, in 2023, in 2020 he won the 50th Anniversary Grand Prix at the Northamptonshire track.