Jonathan Wheatley has suggested Max Verstappen\u2019s criticism of F1\u2019s 2026 rules says as much about Red Bull\u2019s struggles as it does about the regulations themselves.<\/p>\n
Four-time world champion Verstappen has been one of the most vocal critics of Formula 1\u2019s new energy harvesting era, labelling the rules \u201canti-racing\u2019 during pre-season testing.<\/p>\n
Jonathan Wheatley links Max Verstappen criticism to Red Bull struggles<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n Two races into the season, and with just eight points on the board, he didn\u2019t hold after leaving Shanghai without scoring a point.<\/p>\n The Dutch racer finished the Sprint in ninth place, one place shy of the points, after losing places off the line when he was bogged down by a lack of battery power.<\/p>\n It was more of the same in the grand prix where Verstappen<\/a> tried to fight back for a points finish only to be told to \u201cretire\u201d his RB22 with an ERS cooling problem.<\/p>\n Verstappen called this ruleset, with its energy management, harvesting and super clipping, \u201cfundamentally flawed\u201d and the racing a \u201cjoke\u201d.<\/p>\n More on F1 2026 on PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n Why F1 2026 power unit rules have delivered exactly what fans wanted<\/a><\/p>\n Why F1 2026 has killed qualifying, and why Sprint races are the future<\/a><\/p>\n So much so, it reminds him of the computer game Mario Kart.<\/p>\n \u201cI swapped the simulator for my Nintendo Switch and, yeah, practicing a bit of Mario Kart, actually!\u201d he laughed, when asked if drivers who spend more time in the sim are now at a greater advantage than those who don\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, finding the mushrooms is going quite well. The blue shell is a bit more difficult, but I\u2019m working on it. The rockets are still not there. The rocket is coming!\u201d<\/p>\n He warned F1 bosses that the new regulations will \u201ceventually ruin the sport \u2013 it will come and bite them back in the ass.\u201d<\/p>\n The Red Bull driver\u2019s criticism of the new ruleset has been called out as sour grapes by Juan Pablo Montoya, who told him, \u201cthere\u2019s the door<\/a>\u201c, and also Guenther Steiner. The former Haas team boss said it smacks of \u201ctoys out of the pram when it doesn\u2019t go his way<\/a>\u201c.<\/p>\n In sharp contrast to Verstappen, Leclerc, who fought for the podium in both Australia and China, is enjoying the new era of racing.<\/p>\n \u201cI really enjoyed it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, you\u2019ve got those overtakes where it\u2019s artificial, whenever someone is doing a mistake with the battery and completely drains it, and then there\u2019s a massive speed difference.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, I feel like we are all converging a little bit towards knowing where we shouldn\u2019t go and where we can try and take the risk, and so that creates very interesting overtaking places. I think today [China] was the showing of that.\u201d<\/p>\n This has led Wheatley to suggest that opinions on the new regulations largely depending on individual performance.<\/p>\n While those at the front of the field, Mercedes and Ferrari, are thoroughly enjoying the new regulations, those not in the fight for the victories aren\u2019t having a great time out on track.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you spoke to the two Ferrari drivers, they said it was a brilliant day,\u201d the now-Audi team principal told the media after the Chinese Grand Prix.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you can\u2019t win, then if you can just race cleanly\u2026 <\/p>\n \u201cI have to say, it didn\u2019t look to me like any kind of false racing. Each driver had a go at each other. They raced beautifully, cleanly.<\/p>\n \u201cI enjoyed watching it. There are battles going on in the field that I think are hugely encouraging. <\/p>\n \u201cI think you can understand Max\u2019s comments, and that\u2019s because of where he finds himself.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n