Verstappen about new technical regulations: 'Data looks really bad'

Max Verstappen is worried about the new technical regulations that will be introduced in 2026. According to the Dutchman, racing will only become more difficult in the future, he told the press conference after the Austrian Grand Prix.

Formula 1 engines will undergo a major overhaul in the run-up to 2026. To be less of an environmental thorn in the side, future engines will be half-electric. To make this possible, the MGU-K, the electric motor, will be tripled in HP.

The two-time world champion sees a lot of bears on the road: "I've seen the data and already on the simulator as well. To me, it looks pretty terrible. I mean, if you go flat out on the straight in Monza, like four or five hundredths before the end of the straight, you have to downshift flat out because that's faster." The Dutchman fears it will turn into a race of who builds the best engine. "So whoever has the strongest engine will have a big benefit, but I don't think that should be the intention of Formula 1."

Verstappen hopes for change

The Red Bull driver also thinks the cars will have less drag, making it harder to overtake. "You have the active aerodynamics which you can't control. They control it, well, it will be, I don't know, the system will control it for you, which then I think makes it very awkward to drive because I prefer to control it myself," states Verstappen. And to top it off, the weight of the cars will also increase, due to the heavier (electro-)engines.

"We have to seriously look at this because, I mean, ‘26 is not that far away, and 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."