Max Verstappen 'falling apart' as F1 career takes its toll

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Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen 'falling apart' as F1 career takes its toll

Max Verstappen has competed in F1 for a decade.

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Wednesday 17 December 2025 07:39

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Max Verstappen has revealed the physical impact of his F1 career and claimed his back is 'falling apart'.

The physical demands of being an F1 driver often come as a surprise, with racing drivers exposed to extreme G-forces and capable of losing up to five per cent body weight during strenuous full-length races.

According to four-time world champion Verstappen, the ground effect era has made the physical demand worse, and now, the Dutchman has admitted that he will not miss this generation of cars.

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The ground effect era was ushered in once again from 2022 and came to an end at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Red Bull very much the dominant force at the start of the ruleset.

One of the physical side effects of this type of car has been porpoising, when an F1 car bounces up and down, caused by an increase, then a sudden decrease, of downforce, and it is this action in particular that have left many drivers in pain.

Verstappen won't miss ground effect era

“I won't miss these cars. At first, following the others was fun, but as time went on, it wasn't anymore," Verstappen said to Formula Passion.

"Maybe you can follow a little better and have more control, whereas with the older cars you had extreme oversteer or understeer, but now there's less downforce and the slipstream isn't as effective as it used to be: it's not enough to overtake.”

“I didn’t find them very fun to drive, and they haven’t been comfortable at all over the years: my back is falling apart and my feet always hurt. If we think about motocross, we have nothing to complain about, but I preferred the 2015-2016 cars.”

In 2026, F1 will welcome a new set of rules which includes 50 per cent electrical power, active aerodynamics and sustainable fuels.

These next set of regulations could be crucial for Verstappen's F1 future, with the champion's relationship with Red Bull very much dependant on them providing him with competitive machinery.

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen