Has Red Bull’s “horror show” at Formula 1’s Chinese Grand Prix amplified Max Verstappen’s hatred of the 2026 regulations?
Verstappen launched his biggest attack yet on these cars, lambasting the “terrible” racing they create after retiring from the Chinese GP.
He said: “If someone likes this, then you really don’t know what racing is like”. He also inisted he’d say the same if he was winning because “I care about the racing product, it’s not about where I am”.
But when Verstappen’s comments were put to Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff by The Race, Wolff suggested Red Bull’s tricky weekend was heightening Verstappen’s feelings.
“Max is really, I think, in a horror show,” Wolff said.
“When you look at the onboard that he has in qualifying yesterday, this is just horrendous to drive, and you can see that.
“But it’s not the same with many other teams. From an entertainment perspective, I believe that what we’ve seen today between Ferrari and [Mercedes] was good racing. Many overtakes.
“We were all part of Formula 1 where there was no overtake, literally. Sometimes we are too nostalgic about the good old years, but I think the product is good in itself.
“We saw quite some racing in the midfield also and that is…I think the positive.
“Now, from a driver standpoint when it comes to the balls-out qualifying lap, that is different. Clearly lift and cost in qualifying, I’m sure for someone like Max, who is a full-attack guy, is difficult to cope with and digest.
“But it’s more, I would say, a car-specific issue that kind of magnifies the problem that it is, because if you sit in front of a TV or in front of a screen, even Max would say that was interesting racing in the front.”
When it was put to him that qualifying should be flat out, rather than featuring the lifting and coasting drivers have complained about, Wolff replied: “Yeah, qualifying flat out would be nice, but when you look at the fans and the excitement that is there live, the cheering when there’s overtakes and also on social media, the younger fans, the vast majority through all the demographics like the sport at the moment.
“So, yes, we can always look at how we can improve it, but at the moment…all the indicators say, all the data say, people love it. And I spoke with Stefano [Domenicali, F1 CEO]. He says that, too.
“So it is driving the car that, for some, is not most pleasant.”
‘Best F1 racing I’ve ever experienced’
There was certainly no shortage of praise for the racing from those drivers whose teams have got 2026 right.
Lewis Hamilton, fresh from a euphoric first grand prix podium with Ferrari, said: “Yeah, the cars are easier to follow, much better than past years. You can get very close.
“There’s not a bad wake where you’re losing too much downforce. I think it’s the best racing that I’ve ever experienced in Formula 1.
“Hopefully it was an exciting race to watch for you guys – because it was awesome in the car. It felt like go-karting, back and forth, back and forth, and you could really position your car in a nice way where there was a thin piece of paper between us sometimes, but we didn’t exchange any paint.
“I think that’s down to great drivers and respect.”
He even survived a “kiss” with his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, who, despite coming off second-best in their intra-team scrap, admitted: “I really enjoyed it. Honestly, these cars for races, it’s actually quite fun.”
Even a spectating Russell praised the Hamilton-Leclerc scrap as “some of the most aggressive racing I’ve seen for a while. If I wasn’t trying to win the race, I’d have been enjoying the battle”.
It would be easy to draw the conclusion, therefore, that the drivers 2026’s rule change has rewarded with a competitive car are much happier with the racing than those who have been lumbered with an uncompetitive or unreliable car.
But it would be an oversimplification of Verstappen’s view in particular.
He’s been consistently critical of these 2026 regulations since as early as three years ago, when the first concerns of how they’d manifest on-track were publicly raised.
And he’s hardly been shy of criticising elements of F1, even while he’s been winning. Just look at him slating sprint races, despite winning way more of them than any other driver.
Or look at how tough he can be on Red Bull, even when it’s only briefly uncompetitive.
As ever, Verstappen is simply airing his views in his typically unfiltered and frank way.
Perhaps such a galling grand prix has slightly amplified his comments this time around, but even if he’d somehow ended up on the podium instead of Hamilton, there is no way he’d be reaching to praise this as the best F1 racing ever.
He just authentically hates this version of F1.