Not happy. Quadruple Formula 1 world champion, Max Verstappen has been a rag since the start of the season, where he has been unable to perform with his Red Bull. This Sunday, he only took eighth place in the Japanese Grand Prix with his “undriveable” car. Upon arrival at Suzuka, the Dutchman complained a lot, to the point of questioning his presence on the circuits.
The reason for this anger: the new regulations on half-electric, half-thermal engines. Interviewed by the BBC, Max Verstappen reaffirmed that he took “no pleasure in the new formula” of F1. “When you think about it, is it worth it? (…) Wouldn’t I prefer to spend more time with my family, see more of my friends, rather than doing a sport that doesn’t satisfy me? “, he asked.
A little break to breathe
Saturday’s tests and qualifying were “a disaster and I tried to optimize today’s race, but the car remains the same”, he complained to a few journalists, after finishing 8th in the Grand Prix, behind Frenchman Pierre Gasly (Alpine). Starting 11th on the grid, “I just tried to hang on,” whispered the driver to a few journalists, visibly defeated and discouraged.
Verstappen has repeatedly compared the 2026 version of Formula 1 to “Formula E (electric) on steroids” and the video game “Mario Kart” and judged that the races were a “joke” and the discipline had become too “political”. Defeatist and struggling this year, he confided on Thursday that he no longer believed in victory and that he was planning for 2027. And, angered, he even ordered a British journalist from the Guardian to “get out” of the room for a question that had not pleased him in December about his defeat on the line in 2025.
Like the other 21 drivers, Verstappen will be able to take time off until the weekend of May 1 and the Miami GP, since those scheduled for April in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were canceled due to the war in the Middle East. “I’m going to do other races, things that make me smile again,” he said, as he returned from a car endurance race in Germany and the specialized press relayed rumors about his future at Red Bull where he is under contract until the end of 2027.
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