Max Verstappen has opened up about one of the most unusual periods of his Formula 1 career, explaining why he chose to remain with Red Bull despite talks with rival teams, what is fundamentally wrong with the RB22 and why endurance racing is becoming an increasingly important part of his future. The four-time world champion also delivered another uncompromising verdict on the 2026 Formula 1 regulations, describing the current cars as too insensitive to driver input.
The 2026 season has forced Max Verstappen into a very different position from the dominant years that delivered four consecutive world titles. Red Bull is not fighting for the championship, and rather than chasing immediate success, the Dutchman says the priority is now to understand as much as possible ahead of next season and recover the performance the team has lost.
Max Verstappen explains the fundamental problem with Red Bull’s RB22
For Max Verstappen, the problem with the current Red Bull is relatively clear. The car lacks overall performance, but just as importantly, it does not provide the feeling he wants behind the wheel. Its balance changes too much between corner entry, the middle of the turn and the exit, suggesting that something more fundamental needs to be addressed.
The issue has persisted for more than a year and has continued despite Formula 1 moving into a completely different regulatory era. That has forced Red Bull to question why the same tendencies have remained and how they can finally be eliminated. With new personnel joining the operation, discussions are taking place over potential changes and whether a different technical philosophy could be required.
Those limitations have already been a recurring theme during the season, with Max Verstappen struggling to extract his usual level of performance from the RB22 at several circuits.
Max Verstappen told BBC Sport that Red Bull is not where he wants it to be, but the current objective is to learn as much as possible for next year. The changes required to solve the car’s deeper problems cannot be implemented fully during the present season, making the information gathered now particularly important for the future.
Why Max Verstappen chose to renew with Red Bull
Despite the difficult competitive situation, Max Verstappen recently extended his Red Bull contract. For the Dutchman, that decision was driven as much by belonging and loyalty as by outright performance.
“It’s also about feeling comfortable within a team. This is like a second family to me,” Max Verstappen told the BBC. “It’s about believing that you can turn things around, that you can build towards a better future with different people, new people. And ultimately, for me, it isn’t only about Formula 1. There are many things I’ll be doing next year that Red Bull is also involved in. I feel good here. So for me, this is the right place to be.”
Red Bull did not need to apply enormous pressure to convince him. Max Verstappen says his message to the team was always straightforward: concentrate on making the car faster, because the more competitive it becomes, the easier his decision is.
He also insists that he did not spend much time actively exploring alternatives. His commitments outside Formula 1 meant he was already busy, even as speculation continued around his future. The details of his new agreement remain particularly interesting because Max Verstappen’s extended Red Bull contract still contains performance-related exit provisions.
Mercedes and McLaren talks were taken seriously
Max Verstappen nevertheless acknowledged that discussions with other leading teams were genuine. He held talks with Mercedes previously and with McLaren during 2026, and he says both were treated seriously and conducted with mutual respect.
“Of course, you take any kind of conversation seriously. They are all very respectful discussions. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Max Verstappen explained. “For me, staying was the right choice. You have to follow your heart. I could have run away very early in my Red Bull career and gone somewhere else to try to win. If you have a little patience, eventually you do win. I feel that this is my approach now as well.”
Nor does Max Verstappen feel any need to prove that he can become world champion in another car. For him, moving simply because another team currently has the fastest package would run against his character.
“I don’t mind the challenge. I don’t have that desire or need to prove in another car that I can win, or anything like that. It’s easy to run towards the fastest car and then do it all again. But that’s not who I am. You can’t be the captain of the ship and then, as soon as something stops working, jump off the ship. Things have gone somewhat downhill compared with the dominant years, but I don’t mind rebuilding it either. That’s another challenge.”
Nürburgring 24 Hours gives Verstappen ‘pure motorsport’ experience
Formula 1 is no longer Max Verstappen’s only competitive interest. Asked which race he had enjoyed most during 2026, the Red Bull driver pointed to his experience at the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
He described the event as incredible and “pure motorsport”. During his opening stint, Max Verstappen climbed from 10th to first despite difficult conditions that included light rain, a slippery Nordschleife, accidents and Code 60 zones.
“I was enjoying myself. The conditions weren’t easy. It started to drizzle, the track was slippery, there were accidents and Code 60s,” Max Verstappen recalled. “Some people were saying: ‘Let’s see how he manages in a race under pressure with all these scenarios he has never faced before.’ But I’ve done them a million times on the simulator. I’ve completed so many laps and so many 24-hour races on the simulator. I never felt out of place. I was completely focused. I was just having an incredible amount of fun. Once you’re racing, you go to another level. I was simply in the zone. It’s really enjoyable.”
Le Mans with Fernando Alonso remains part of the dream
Max Verstappen would like another attempt at winning the Nürburgring 24 Hours, but his endurance ambitions extend considerably further. In time, he wants to experience the major endurance races and compete in the Hypercar category.
One particularly fascinating possibility would be racing at Le Mans alongside Fernando Alonso. The two multiple Formula 1 world champions have already discussed the idea, although Max Verstappen insists several conditions would have to align.
The timing would need to work with their respective schedules, the project would need to make sporting sense and, most importantly, there would have to be a genuine opportunity to compete for victory. Verstappen has no intention of entering such a race simply for the experience.
Max Verstappen calls 2026 F1 cars ‘numb’ to driver inputs
Where Max Verstappen remains considerably less enthusiastic is Formula 1’s current hybrid formula. The Dutchman has repeatedly criticised the characteristics of the 2026 cars, particularly the importance placed on electrical energy management.
In previous generations, he argues, the driver willing to brake latest, accelerate earliest and commit hardest through high-speed corners would normally be rewarded. Under the current regulations, a driver may instead have to lift, brake earlier or delay applying the throttle because doing so can improve energy availability and straight-line speed later in the lap.
“In the history of the sport, normally the driver who commits the most, brakes the latest, gets on the throttle earliest and commits through the high-speed corners is rewarded, because that’s where you gain the lap time,” Max Verstappen said.
“But now you’re constantly thinking: ‘In this corner maybe I need to hold back a little. Get on the throttle later. Or brake earlier. Or lift. And then I’ll have more top speed.’ Things like that. It’s so unnatural. It’s not how it should be.”
Max Verstappen pointed to Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson as examples of how the characteristics of the current generation of Formula 1 cars can reduce the influence of adaptation.
“These cars are numb to driver inputs,” Max Verstappen said. “It’s really, really limited, like having a chokehold on you or something. You’re being held back.”
Verstappen wants lighter V8 engines and less battery influence
If Max Verstappen could influence Formula 1’s next engine formula, his preference would be clear: a return to a smaller and lighter V8, with a much smaller battery used primarily as a push-to-pass system rather than being central to normal lap performance.
Ideally, he would also remove the turbo because of the lag it introduces. The four-time world champion misses not only the responsiveness of previous engines but also their sound, vibration and emotional impact.
He still loves competition and hopes Formula 1 will evolve in a direction he enjoys more as the sport approaches 2030. What he currently misses most is the purity of driving – the sensation that committing harder with the car is directly rewarded without the same degree of energy-management compromise.
‘When it’s bad, you’ll hear it from me’
That attitude fits with the wider personality Max Verstappen believes he has maintained throughout his career. On track, he accepts the description of himself as a winning machine when competition demands it. Away from racing, however, he says he is capable of switching off and enjoying an entirely different life.
Within a racing environment, Max Verstappen demands a great deal from everyone around him and expects the same standards to be demanded of him in return. For that reason, speaking openly and honestly remains fundamental to the way he operates.
“I just want to be myself. I know there is a lot of politics in Formula 1, and I also understand that there is a lot of politics between the teams,” Max Verstappen said.
“When it’s good, it’s good. When it’s bad, it’s bad. You’ll hear it from me because that’s the way I like to operate. And I’m not going to hold back from that.”
It is an approach that helps explain why Max Verstappen has chosen to remain with Red Bull during perhaps the most difficult competitive period of their relationship. The current car may not give him what he wants and the championship may be out of reach, but rather than immediately search for the quickest escape route, the Dutchman has chosen the challenge of trying to rebuild the team that became his second family.
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