Max Verstappen warns 2026 F1 cars will be ‘TERRIBLE’

Max Verstappen

Verstappen warns 2026 F1 cars will be ‘TERRIBLE’

Current F1 champion confirms that data from new regulations doesn’t make for good reading currently

Shay Rogers

Monday 3 July 2023 20:12

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Max Verstappen is currently in the form of his life, having finished in the top two of every race this season, including a current streak of five consecutive wins.

The Red Bull driver has been all but unstoppable in his dominant RB19 and looks set to continue with the team until the end of his contract in 2028.

That means that the Dutchman will be around for the introduction of 2026’s new regulations, which are set to see new engines and active drag reduction systems.

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F1’s last set of regulation changes came into force at the beginning of the 2022 season, a year later than planned due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Verstappen: It looks very bad from all the numbers

While many fans are looking forward to 2026 as a chance for the order to change at the top of the sport, Verstappen doesn’t share the same optimism, having taken a dive into the numbers with his team.

“I’ve been talking about that with the team, and I’ve seen the data already on the simulator as well. To me, it looks pretty terrible.

“I mean, if you go flat-out on the straight at Monza, I don’t know what it is, like four or five hundred [metres] before the end of the straight, you have to downshift flat-out, because that’s faster.”

Another problem that has been raised over the last few years has been the increasing weight of F1 cars, which some say has been the leading cause of a lower quality of racing.

“The weight is going up again, so we have to seriously look at this because ’26 is not that far away. At the moment, to me, it looks very bad from all the numbers and what I see from the data already. So, it’s not something I’m very excited about at the moment.”

With less than three years to go until cars are rolled out for a new era of Formula One, it looks like the FIA may have their work cut out in order to satisfy teams, drivers and fans in a bid to make the sport exciting and fun to be involved in.