Max Verstappen says Formula 1 must make major changes to its power units next season if he is to remain in the sport.
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The Red Bull driver welcomed the FIA’s decision to adjust the balance of power generation in the 2027 regulations, but insisted the proposed move to a 60-40 split between the combustion engine and battery should be implemented sooner. “That has to be the minimum they try to achieve for next year,” he said.
Verstappen has been one of the most vocal critics of the 2026 rules. He recently competed in the Nürburgring 24 Hours and described that experience as a far more rewarding driving challenge than current F1 machinery.
“The thing is, I know how pure other motorsport can feel,” he told Sky. “So then when you come back to this, it’s just not very nice.”
He added that racing in purer categories offers more satisfying wheel-to-wheel action. “I don’t want to be too negative after a race like this, but I know what it feels like to drive pure racing cars: pure overtakes, pure racing and just natural driving. This is all a bit—especially qualifying—very anti-driving, anti-racing, and that’s not what Formula 1 should be about. So I really hope that next year we can get that 60-40 because that will naturally help everything a bit.”
In Montreal, Verstappen claimed his best result of the season so far, finishing third behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton. Starting from sixth on the grid, he said the podium was better than he had expected.
“Of course because of the retirement of George, normally the two Mercedes cars would have taken off. But for us it’s a positive result,” he said.
Verstappen explained the team’s tyre performance: “On the soft we were a little more competitive; on the medium I just couldn’t generate the tyre temperature we needed around here and that didn’t give us the right feeling. They were never really gripping, never in the window, and that stint was just a bit more difficult for us. Nevertheless, I think we had a good result to be on the podium.”
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