Max Verstappen slams proposed 2026 F1 rule changes, calls cars 'terrible' to drive

Red Bull ace, Max Verstappen, didn't hold back in expressing his disapproval of Formula 1's proposed rule changes for 2026, suggesting they would turn the cars into a nightmare to drive.

The proposed alterations aim to increase the reliance on batteries, splitting power production evenly between combustion engines and electric motors. However, Red Bull's team principal, Christian Horner, had previously cautioned that this could lead to drivers needing to downshift on straights to recharge the batteries effectively.

After securing victory at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday, Verstappen echoed Horner's concerns to media, stating, "I've been talking about that as well with the team, and I've seen the data on the simulator too."

He continued, "To me, it looks pretty terrible. If you go flat-out on the straight at Monza, four or five hundred [metres] before the end, you have to downshift flat-out because that's faster. I think that's not the way forward."

The Dutch driver also voiced his fears about an expensive competition arising among teams and engine suppliers to produce the most potent power unit, saying, "The problem is it looks like it's going to be an ICE competition, like whoever has the strongest engine will have a big benefit. But I don't think that should be the intention of Formula 1 because then you will start a massive development war again, and it will become quite expensive to find a few horsepower here and there.

"I think it actually should be the opposite. Plus, the cars probably have a lot less drag, so it will be even harder to overtake on the straight."

Concerning the increasing degree of automation within the cockpit, Verstappen remarked, "And then you have the active aerodynamics, which you can't control - the system will control it for you, which then makes it very awkward to drive because I prefer to control it myself."

He added, "When you're behind someone, maybe you need more front or more rear - these kind of things. If the system starts to control that for you, I don't think that's the right way forward. Plus, the weight is going up again, so we have to seriously look at this because 2026 is not that far away.

"At the moment, to me, it looks very bad from all the numbers and what I see from the data already, so it's not something I'm very excited about at the moment."

With Verstappen's concerns making headlines, fans eagerly await the British Grand Prix on July 9 at the Silverstone Circuit.