F1 champion Max Verstappen accused of 'throwing toys out of pram' over 2026 criticism

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen accused of 'throwing toys out of pram' over F1 criticism

Max Verstappen has been very critical of the new regulations

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 19 March 2026 08:25

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A former F1 team boss has accused four-time champion Max Verstappen of 'throwing his toys out of the pram' around his criticism of the 2026 regulation changes.

Verstappen has not had a good start to the 2026 season, picking up just eight points from his first two race weekends of the season.

A qualifying crash at the Australian Grand Prix meant that the Dutchman could only recover to sixth in that race, while he was running way down the order in China before having to retire his RB22 after a problem with the energy recovery system (ERS).

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Following that disappointment, Verstappen launched a fiery rant about F1's rule changes that have been brought in for 2026, calling them a 'joke' and hinting that it's like racing in Mario Kart.

Now, former Haas team boss Guenther Steiner has suggested that Verstappen's criticism of the new rules could well be down to how poorly his Red Bull team are doing, rather than the actual racing.

"That's not the fault of the regulations, that's the fault of the team," Steiner told talkSPORT. "Max is not happy because his car is not where he likes it to be, but we need to be fair because Red Bull did their own power unit for the first time.

"It's such advanced technology, so it takes some time for engineers to get used to it and I'm actually surprised how good the new engine manufacturers like Red Bull and Audi are.

"Max always he throws the toys out of the pram if it doesn't go his way quite quick."

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Can Verstappen and Red Bull bounce back?

The only positive that Verstappen will be able to take from the first two race weekends of the season is that Red Bull were also behind their rivals at the start of the 2025 season, with McLaren the dominant team then and Mercedes now.

Verstappen was over 100 points from the top of the championship at one stage in that season but still came back to finish just two points off the title in the end, winning more grands prix than any other driver.

Even when Isack Hadjar and Verstappen have been able to be running during races this season, however, they've looked to be more in a battle with the likes of McLaren and Alpine, rather than the frontrunners Mercedes and Ferrari.

They will need upgrades to come to their RB22 quickly if they are to join the battle for podiums in future races, while the reliability of their new power unit also needs to be vastly improved upon.

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen 2026 regulations Guenther Steiner