Max Verstappen warns F1 over 'ruining the sport... It will bite them in the a***'

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen warns F1 over 'ruining the sport... It will bite them in the a***'

F1 completely changed the regulations ahead of the 2026 season

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 18 March 2026 11:59

Max Verstappen has warned F1 bosses about the 2026 regulations, and suggested that their approach could 'bite them in the a**'.

Verstappen has been very critical about the new regulations, saying at the Chinese Grand Prix that it was like 'playing Mario Kart', while also repeatedly stating that it's not fun to drive the new cars.

2026 saw one of the biggest regulation overhauls in F1 history, and the drivers are trying to get used to the new rules, which have included an increase in electrical energy within the power units, as well as smaller, more nimble car chassis.

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Verstappen and his Red Bull team have not had a good start to 2026, with the four-time world champion only having picked up eight points from the first two race weekends of the season.

But the Dutchman is not the only driver to have complained about the new rules. Fernando Alonso described F1 2026 as the 'battery world championship' last weekend, while Liam Lawson has also not been best pleased by the rule changes.

It was put to Verstappen in a press conference that F1 may be trying to adhere to their viewers and commercial interests, to which Verstappen responded with a warning to the sport's bosses.

"I hope they don't think like that, because it will eventually ruin the sport," he told media at the Chinese GP. "It will come and bite them back in the a**.

"For me, as long as we can just communicate with them and make sure that we are working on some solutions that will help a lot, but it's also going to be very difficult for everyone to agree.

"Of course, not everyone needs to agree, but most of the people have to agree to make changes. But, like I said, it's political. Some people feel they have the advantage now, and, of course, they want to use that, rightly.

"So I get that. I mean, I'm not stupid, but at the same time, if you look at it, for the sport, it's just not good."

Red Bull's dismal start to 2026

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff recently suggested that four-time world champion Verstappen's criticism of the new regulations may simply be down to the fact that Red Bull do not seem to have a race-winning car in 2026.

Both Verstappen and his team-mate Isack Hadjar have had to retire from a race with a power unit problem in the early weeks of the season, and the team have just 12 points between the two drivers.

It has not been a good start to the Milton Keynes-based outfit's new era of power unit production, but they will hope to make gains on their rivals in the coming seasons.

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen 2026 regulations