Max Verstappen believes the recent Formula 1 races at Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone have confirmed many of the concerns he raised about the 2026 regulations before the season began. Ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver recalled being accused of complaining excessively when he first criticised the new cars, but maintained that more people are now recognising the same problems.
Max Verstappen has never hidden his lack of enthusiasm for the current technical regulations. That became clear from the beginning of the season, although the first signs of his unease had emerged years earlier, when the new generation of cars existed only as simulator models. Even then, Max Verstappen anticipated several of the difficulties Formula 1 would eventually encounter.
Max Verstappen says 2026 F1 has confirmed his concerns
One of the unusual scenarios predicted before the regulations arrived has now become reality: drivers sometimes change down a gear on a straight to keep the engine revs higher. Battery management has also become a central part of how a qualifying or race lap must be planned, forcing drivers to think carefully about energy deployment while they are driving.
Oscar Piastri described the situation as rubbish because drivers can be caught out by predictive algorithms that adapt according to what they learn over time. Very small differences in driver input can affect how energy is managed later in the lap, while factors outside the driver’s control, such as grip levels or wind, can also influence the outcome.
Every Formula 1 era has required drivers to reinvent aspects of their technique. Even within the same regulatory cycle, they often need to adjust their approach from one season to the next or after a major upgrade package. If a car becomes more prone to understeer or oversteer, the driver must adapt accordingly.
However, the 2026 cars appear to demand more conscious decision-making behind the wheel than previous generations, particularly when drivers are trying to maximise hybrid energy deployment. From a chassis perspective, the drivers are generally satisfied because the cars are lighter and easier to understand, but management of the hybrid system remains the most controversial issue.
Before the Hungarian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen used the debate to revisit the warnings he felt had previously been dismissed.
“I have expressed my thoughts on these regulations for a very long time, and at the beginning many people said, ‘Oh, he is just complaining, he should shut up,’” Max Verstappen explained. “But over the last few races, more and more people are starting to see the same things that I had already noticed a long time ago. And it is not because I am no longer winning. It is simply because I care about the product.”
Why Max Verstappen questions the quality of the racing
The meaning of the Formula 1 product is where opinions begin to differ. Some observers appreciate close, unpredictable races filled with overtaking, and that view is understandable. Spectators want action rather than a procession in which the cars follow one another without genuine attacking opportunities.
At the same time, there is concern that overtaking can become artificial, especially at circuits where the available electrical energy is limited. In those circumstances, passing another car may depend heavily on whether one driver has battery deployment available while the other does not.
Drivers can still influence that process during wheel-to-wheel battles by choosing where and when to use their energy. However, battery deployment becomes much more restrictive when the objective is to optimise a qualifying lap or maintain consistent race pace. That is the element Max Verstappen finds particularly unsatisfying.
“I say what I think because you see certain things coming, and then sometimes people say, ‘Oh, but it was a great race,’” Max Verstappen continued. “I answer that, yes, but the way we are racing is not really realistic. Then you arrive at some tracks and you are driving with little power by Formula 1 standards, and it is slightly painful, which is something I could already predict years ago. So naturally, it is not the most exciting thing.”
Max Verstappen admitted that he was not enjoying this style of racing very much. He explained that it could sometimes be amusing to watch the drivers ahead fight and use their battery, only to overtake them on the following straight without having to create the move through braking or cornering skill.
“I do not really enjoy it that much,” Max Verstappen acknowledged. “Sometimes it is even funny to see the drivers ahead fighting and using the battery, while you do nothing and then pass them on the next straight, literally without doing anything. So yes, somehow it should be different. And with all these wings opening everywhere, the drag is reduced enormously when you follow another car.”
Max Verstappen believes some overtakes feel artificial
Max Verstappen accepted that the system had been designed for clear reasons, but stated that he would prefer to close on another car through the slipstream before attempting a pass under braking or through another traditional manoeuvre. Under the current format, he feels some overtakes are effectively completed halfway along the straight.
“Obviously, it is done for clear reasons, but I prefer to approach someone in the slipstream and then perhaps try the overtake under braking or in another way,” he explained. “Now, instead, the overtake sometimes happens in the middle of the straight. It is a little strange. The problem is that genuine racing fans understand it. People who do not really follow motorsport think it is cool because they see more overtakes, but it is not real.”
The central issue for Max Verstappen is the naturalness of the racing. To optimise the current cars, teams and drivers must study in advance how to extract the most from the battery, including how pedal inputs will influence deployment later in the lap.
Recent races have demonstrated why applying the throttle too early can damage overall lap time. Doing so may use electrical energy during the traction phase rather than preserving it for a long straight, where the same energy could produce a greater time gain.
How throttle inputs can change battery deployment
At Spa and Silverstone, race engineers encouraged drivers over the radio to attack corner entry before delaying their return to the throttle. In previous technical eras, the opposite approach might have been preferable, but the current objective is often to save battery power for later in the lap.
The challenges are similar to those Mercedes has encountered while investigating George Russell’s energy deployment problems. Small differences in throttle use, braking technique and gear selection can dramatically change where electrical power becomes available.
“You are constantly thinking about your inputs and how to optimise speed on the straight, which is a little strange compared with everything you have done throughout your career until now,” Max Verstappen added.
Max Verstappen explained that the issue can depend entirely on the driver’s throttle input. In some cases, carrying greater speed through a corner can result in a larger loss on the following straight, even though being faster through the corner would normally represent a net gain in any other category of motorsport.
“It is simply your throttle input,” he continued. “Sometimes, by being faster through the corner, you then lose more on the straight, which obviously should not happen. In any motorsport category, if you gain time in the corner, that is time gained over the lap. Normally, you would not then be penalised on the straight.”
Drivers must alter gears, braking and throttle technique
According to Max Verstappen, drivers now have to consider using a different gear, modifying their braking technique or changing how they return to the throttle. Those adjustments can cancel out much of the time gained through driving skill in another part of the lap.
That helps explain why Formula 1 has produced so many close battles between rival teams and even between team-mates. Max Verstappen believes the system can prevent drivers from making a meaningful difference because any advantage created through the corners may be removed by reduced deployment on the next straight.
“Now you really have to think about using a different gear, changing your braking technique or altering the way you return to the throttle,” Max Verstappen explained. “You have to do everything differently. In practice, you end up neutralising a large part of the lap time, and that is why, generally, you see so many close battles between teams or even between team-mates. Sometimes you cannot make the difference. You are not allowed to make the difference because you would simply be penalised on the following straight.”
The debate has grown after Spa and Silverstone, where drivers and teams encountered further examples of how sensitive the current power units are to energy distribution. Oscar Piastri has also supported concerns about battery deployment affecting qualifying performance, reinforcing the sense that Max Verstappen is no longer alone in questioning how the regulations shape the racing.
For Max Verstappen, the issue is not simply whether the new rules produce more overtaking. His concern is whether those overtakes arise naturally from car performance, driver skill and genuine battles, or from one car having electrical energy available while another has already exhausted its deployment.
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