Max Verstappen was right, F1 was wrong and ‘Formula E will soon be faster’

Max Verstappen in Bahrain during F1 testing — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 2026 Regulations

Max Verstappen was right, F1 was wrong and ‘Formula E will soon be faster’

The views of a former F1 star makes for extremely grim reading

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Friday 20 February 2026 20:43

It has been a difficult few days for F1 with the new regulations sweeping into the sport bringing them a storm of protest.

It is particularly damning that the loudest voices of all have been the sport’s biggest superstars ahead of the new 2026 season.

Those regulation changes have delivered cars which are harder to drive, which prioritise management over speed and ultimately which are slower than their predecessors.

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Throw in the safety concerns about drivers struggling to even get off the start line, and it is an extremely worrying situation ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 8.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen made the biggest headlines of all when he criticised the 2026 cars in the strongest possible way during pre-season testing in Bahrain. He even hinted that retirement was a possibility, adding that driving his Red Bull now felt like ‘Formula E on steroids’.

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Formula E is about to overtake F1 - di Grassi

Just being mentioned in the same breath as a much smaller, competing series must have been painful for the powers that be within F1. But according to current Formula E star Lucas Di Grassi, things are only going to get even worse.

The Brazilian - who earlier spent the 2010 season driving for Virgin in F1 - says the sport has taken the wrong path and believes it is one which will be difficult to recover from.

Writing on social media, he claimed: “He [Verstappen] is correct. F1 should focus on performance. But they got it wrong. They created a regulation that made the car slow and with low performance in 1 lap.”

Di Grassi followed up with a statement which will likely make the likes of F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali recoil in horror - unthinkable in its nature.

“Now, Formula E is going to be faster than Formula 1 in a few years on a lap in Monaco. And what's more, it's going to be *waaay* faster.”

2026 season is approaching fast

Domenicali and Verstappen met for talks earlier this week to discuss the situation - we can safely assume that the 28-year-old Red Bull superstar made his feelings very clear.

But F1 is only just starting out on this new era of regulations, much money has been spent and much time invested. Changing path, or even taking a slight change of direction, will not be easy.

Melbourne in two weeks’ time has never been as eagerly anticipated, and not for the best reasons in 2026. Many fear an embarrassment for the greatest motor racing series of all, we can only hope the prophets of doom will be proved wrong.

F1 Max Verstappen 2026 regulations