{"id":481044,"date":"2026-02-15T06:04:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T06:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/481044\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T06:04:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T06:04:04","slug":"maybe-well-brake-halfway-down-the-straight-max-verstappen-on-f1s-2026-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/481044\/","title":{"rendered":"“Maybe we\u2019ll brake halfway down the straight\u201d \u2013 Max Verstappen on F1\u2019s 2026 \u201cdisaster\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

A jaded Max Verstappen<\/a> sarcastically suggested Formula 1 drivers might have to brake halfway down the Las Vegas Strip to harvest energy.<\/p>\n

F1 introduced new power units for the 2026 season with an expanded electric element, meaning energy management is taking greater preponderance.<\/p>\n

As a consequence, top speed can decrease at full throttle when cars run out of energy deployment; drivers are having to lift and coast ahead of braking zones \u2013 even in a qualifying setting \u2013 to harvest the aforementioned energy and deploy it early on the straights.<\/p>\n

Lewis Hamilton<\/a> pointed to 600 metres\u2019 worth of lift-and-coast on the 4.657km Barcelona track; furthermore, harvesting tactics will, at times, involve downshifting on straights.<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re very energy-inefficient on the straights,\u201d Verstappen confirmed on Thursday in Bahrain. \u201cOn this circuit it\u2019s still manageable. But we\u2019re also going to tracks where it will be a real disaster.<\/p>\n

\u201cMelbourne, Monza for example. Not Mexico, because of the thin air and heavy braking. But that long straight there as well. Spa will be bad. There are quite a few.<\/p>\n

\"Max <\/p>\n

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing<\/p>\n

Photo by: Joe Portlock \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe Las Vegas too, with that long straight,\u201d the Red Bull driver added, referring to the nearly two-kilometre Strip portion, which used to be full throttle throughout. \u201cMaybe we\u2019ll have to brake halfway down the straight because we\u2019ve run out of energy. I\u2019m laughing about it now, but it really makes no sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked by Motorsport if he discussed the issue with F1 and the FIA, Verstappen replied: \u201cI think maybe they didn\u2019t fully realise how bad it would be. But we\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I said, this circuit is still manageable. When we go to Melbourne, you\u2019ll really see how much you have to back off on the straights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many drivers have expressed concern about the extent of energy management with the new machinery, albeit usually in a softer manner than Verstappen. Sergio Perez<\/a> branded it \u201cnot ideal\u201d while Liam Lawson<\/a> was left speechless when asked how fun driving the new car was, but Lando Norris<\/a> called it \u201ca good, fun challenge\u201d \u2013 though the McLaren<\/a> driver also denied doing any lift-and-coast.<\/p>\n

Photos from Bahrain Pre-Season Testing – Day 3<\/p>\n

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\"Lewis<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Oscar<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Lewis<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Gabriel<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Max<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Liam<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Lewis<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"George<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Carlos<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Lewis<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Franco<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Charles<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Gabriel<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Lewis<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Oscar<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Andrea<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Alexander<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Max<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Lewis<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Gabriel<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Lance<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Valtteri<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Lance<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Gabriel<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Oliver<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Isack<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Lance<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Oscar<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Lewis<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Gabriel<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Franco<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Valtteri<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Franco<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\n <\/a>
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\"Carlos<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\n <\/a>
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\"Franco<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Valtteri<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\n <\/a>
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\"George<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\n <\/a>
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\"Carlos<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\n <\/a>
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\"Oscar<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Lewis<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Franco<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Max<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\n <\/a>
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\"Gabriel<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\n <\/a>
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\"Andrea<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Gabriel<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Frederic<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Sergio<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Lewis<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Oscar<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Andrea<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Gabriel<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Liam<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Oscar<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Esteban<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Lewis<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Lewis<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Lance<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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\"Lewis<\/p>\n


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\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing Day 3, in photos
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Read Also:<\/p>\n

We want your opinion!<\/p>\n

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?<\/p>\n

Take our 5 minute survey.<\/a><\/p>\n

– The Motorsport.com Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A jaded Max Verstappen sarcastically suggested Formula 1 drivers might have to brake halfway down the Las Vegas…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":481045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,239802,240338,817,813,816,825,244170,946,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-481044","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-bahrain-international-circuit","11":"tag-bahrain-pre-season-testing","12":"tag-f1","13":"tag-formula-1","14":"tag-formula1","15":"tag-max-verstappen","16":"tag-maybe-weu2019ll-brake-halfway-down-the-straightu201d-u2013-max-verstappen-on-f1u2019s-2026-u201cdisasteru201d","17":"tag-red-bull-racing","18":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/481045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}