Max Verstappen has said anyone who enjoys watching Formula 1 in 2026 does not understand true racing, labelling the sport’s new formula “a joke” following the second round of the season in China.
The Red Bull driver warned the sport as early as 2023 that the new generation of cars would be flawed, and has been outwardly critical of this year’s regulations since he first drove his car in preseason testing.
The 2026 regulations mandate that nearly 50% of the car’s power comes from its battery pack, creating racing situations where drivers can gain a significant advantage by pressing a boost button but also situations where they run out of battery and are left down on power.
Verstappen retired from sixth place at the second grand prix of the season on Sunday, but said he had experienced enough to validate his opinion.
“It’s still terrible,” he said. “I don’t know, if someone likes this, then you really don’t know what racing is about.
“It’s not fun at all. It’s playing Mario Kart. This is not racing.”
Verstappen dropped to 12th at the start of Sunday’s race before working his way back through the field to sixth and retiring with ten laps remaining.
He admitted that Red Bull has been off the pace this year, but said that had given him the chance to sample racing in the middle of the pack.
“Look at the racing,” he added. “You are boosting past, then you run out of battery the next straight. They boost past you again.
“For me, it’s just a joke.”
Verstappen also played down the excitement of the battles between Mercedes and Ferrari drivers for the lead at the first two races, saying any suggestion that the racing is better is coming from drivers who are attempting to protect their competitive advantage.
“It’s just Kimi [Antonelli] or George [Russell] that is winning, right?” Verstappen said. “It’s not really back and forth. They’re miles ahead of the field.
“It’s just that Ferrari sometimes has these good starts that they push themselves in front, and then it takes a few laps to sort it all out. Like I said, this has nothing to do with racing.
“I would say the same if I would be winning races, because I care about the racing product. It’s not about being upset of where I am, because I’m actually fighting even more now, of course.
“So you get to understand what you have to do and what it is about even more. For me, it’s really a joke.”
F1 was keen to play up the number of overtakes after the season-opener in Australia and has called on fans and stakeholders to keep an open mind about the new rules.
Verstappen hopes the number of overtakes and its potential to attract new fans to the sport is not the only factor in deciding whether F1 makes changes to the new formula.
“I hope they don’t think like that, because it will eventually ruin the sport,” he said. “It will come and bite them back in the ass.
“For me, as long as we can just communicate with them and make sure that we are working on some solutions that will help a lot. But it’s also going to be very difficult for everyone to agree, of course.
“Not everyone needs to agree, but most of the people have to agree to make changes. But like I said, it’s political, right?
“Some people feel they have the advantage now, and they want to, of course, use that, rightly so. I get that, I’m not stupid. At the same time, if you look at it for the sport, it’s just not good.”
Asked if the rules can be saved by making small tweaks within the regulations, Verstappen added: “You can help it a little bit, but it’s fundamentally flawed.”
He was reluctant to speak in detail about his conversations with F1, but is convinced the majority of drivers want some level of change in the future.
“You have to be a bit careful with how you say these things,” he said. “We are talking about it [with F1]. I think they understand where we are coming from as drivers.
“I think I speak for most of the drivers. Some, of course, will say it’s great because they are winning races, which is fair enough. When you have an advantage, why would you give that up? Because you never know if you’re going to have a good car again.
“But if you just speak to most of the drivers, it’s not what we like. I don’t think it’s what the real F1 fans like. Maybe some fans like it, but they don’t understand racing. Hopefully we can get rid of this as soon as possible.”
