Former McLaren Racing chief mechanic Mark Grain has revealed that it will be a failure on the part of F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and the organization as a whole if Max Verstappen walks away from the sport.

Verstappen has voiced his frustration about the new technical regulations on several occasions since the start of the 2026 season, even going to the extent of saying that he would rather spend time with family and friends than do something he doesn’t enjoy doing anymore.

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The new regulations that came into effect this season have caused nearly all drivers to express their displeasure, since they are forced to slow down on certain sections of the race track to harvest energy for their batteries that produce 50% of the car’s power.

The four-time world champion got to the point of questioning whether it was worth racing for the rest of the 2026 season. When asked after the Japanese Grand Prix if he was going to part ways with the sport, Verstappen said, as reported by MotorBiscuit:

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“That’s what I’m saying. I’m thinking about everything inside this paddock.

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“Privately I’m very happy. You also wait for 24 races. This time it’s 22. But normally 24. And then you just think about is it worth it? Or do I enjoy being more at home with my family? Seeing my friends more when you’re not enjoying your sport?”

Max Verstappen Has Several Reasons to Quit F1

Not only that, Red Bull’s struggles with the current RB22 F1 car, and several high-profile team member exits in the last year, with Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, announcing his 2028 exit, are factors that could influence Verstappen to quit.

Speaking on The Two Mechanics podcast, Grain said Verstappen is currently the fastest F1 driver, and his exit due to the nature of the current regulations would highlight a failure on the sport’s part. He said:

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“If Stefano Domenicali lets Max go out of Formula 1, then I see that as a failure. That’s to let the most talented race car driver on the planet at the moment, which I genuinely believe he is. I strongly believe he’s the fastest in the world at the moment. Put him in anything, then he should be in Formula 1. And if he’s not, that’s a failure of Formula 1 as an organization. You’ve got to keep him in it.”

FIA and F1 Working Behind The Scenes

With the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix this month because of the ongoing military conflict in the Middle East, F1 and its governing body, the FIA, are working behind the scenes to make changes to the 2026 regulations. Grain hopes the bodies are able to come up with something that impresses drivers and fans. He said:

“There’s a lot of hard work going in this window with these canceled races. Hopefully, the combined brain power of the teams with Formula 1 and Stefano and his team, and the FIA can come up with some ways of operating these cars that give the fans what they want, give the drivers what they want, and make for exciting racing.”

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Grain added that the current version of the 2026 regulations is not a good model for any form of motor racing. He said:

“You can’t ever convince me that lifting off in a corner so you’ve got more energy down the straight, so you actually go faster even though you’ve lifted off, is any good for any form of motor racing, let alone the pinnacle.”