F1 teams don't share Max Verstappen's concerns about the 2026 season

Concerns raised by Max Verstappen regarding the Formula 1 championship potentially becoming an "ICE competition" in 2026 have been played down by teams.

Verstappen recently expressed his apprehensions about the new regulations, anticipating a "massive development war" among manufacturers that would lead to power units being the decisive factor.

However, McLaren and Williams, the two teams that still have the potential to choose their power unit for 2026, have dismissed such concerns.

"We've got a great partnership with Mercedes, so pretty hard to imagine them not getting it right, regardless of wherever the final rules shake out," said McLaren CEO Zak Brown.

"And it's always a combination, isn't it, of driver, chassis and power unit to put out a competitive car. So I don't think that'll be any different, whether that was this regulation or next regulation or the regulation after that."

Both teams have expressed confidence in their current supplier, Mercedes, stating that they believe Mercedes will provide a strong package and that the chassis will remain crucial.

James Vowles, the team principal of Williams, acknowledged the possibility of one supplier gaining an advantage, similar to what Mercedes achieved under the current rules. However, he emphasised that the situation would eventually level out.

"I think in any power unit regulation change you can win or you can lose out as a result of it. Mercedes did a very, very good job across the 2013/'14 changes, an example of that," said Vowles.

"Probably if you go the years before then again, there were power unit suppliers that were slightly above, but it did also settle out fairly quickly afterwards, well into a uniform formula.

"We have a great relationship with Mercedes and a long history behind it and they've been strong in the sport for 20 years. My view on things is that whoever you go with, you will forge your alliance, and I think it will settle down to a very sensible position very quickly shortly afterwards.

"And it would be wrong to say the chassis still doesn't have a large impact on it because I still think in the regulations, as raw as they are at the moment, there's lots of potential to do better or worse than your competitors."