Red Bull driver Max Verstappen in Bahrain. © APA/afp / GIUSEPPE CACACE

Verstappen criticizes new cars: "Not much fun"

The new Formula 1 season begins on March 8th in Australia. The drivers are currently in Bahrain, where testing is being conducted with the new cars. Runner-up world champion Max Verstappen is still struggling to adapt to the new vehicles.

February 12, 2026

From: apa/Reuters

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen is not impressed with the new Formula 1 cars following the biggest rule changes in decades. Driving the cars, now equipped with a significantly larger electric component, is "not much fun" for him, the Red Bull star explained on Thursday during testing in Bahrain.

It feels more like "Formula E on steroids," said the 28-year-old Dutchman – and not very much like Formula 1. In the all-electric Formula E, it's all about energy, efficiency, and managing it. "As a pure racing driver, I like to go full throttle, and at the moment you can't do that," Verstappen explained his reservations. "Everything you do as a driver has a massive impact on the energy side. For me, it's simply not Formula 1."

Some new features in the new cars

At the touch of a button, drivers in the latest generation of cars can activate additional battery power. The "Boost Button" can be used all at once or distributed over the entire lap. There's also an additional "Overtake Mode"—only available if a driver is within one second of a competitor ahead. In this mode, more electrical power is briefly accessed, provided it's available. The driver can only directly control the charging process by lifting off the accelerator.

World champion Lando Norris cannot understand Max Verstappen's words. © ANSA / ALI HAIDER

Verstappen finds it all too complicated – yet he completed a demanding schedule in Bahrain and set the second-fastest lap on Wednesday's opening day, behind world champion Lando Norris in the McLaren. On the second day, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc relegated Norris to second place at Sakhir. Norris completed no fewer than 149 laps on Thursday and couldn't really understand Verstappen's criticism. "It's a challenge, but a good challenge," said Norris.

"If he wants to resign, he can resign."

Norris had snatched the World Championship title from Verstappen by two points last season. "I really enjoyed it. So yes, if he wants to retire, he can retire," the Englishman was quoted as saying by the specialist magazine "Autosport" after the second day of testing. "Formula 1 is constantly changing. We get paid huge sums to race, so there's nothing to really complain about at the end of the day." Every driver is free to do something different.

Following a third day of testing on Friday, another three days of testing are scheduled for next week at the Sakhir desert circuit. The season begins on March 8th with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.