Max Verstappen has branded racing in F1 "a joke" in his latest brutal criticism of the championship's new regulatory era.
The four-time F1 drivers' champion has made his feelings towards the 2026 rules abundantly clear, including when he said after qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix that he has not enjoyed this season since the first lap in the car.
Red Bull, although having looked surprisingly strong during pre-season testing, has endured a difficult start to the campaign.
In addition to its fledgling power unit operation in partnership with Ford, which was always expected to take time to reach competitiveness, the RB22 has proven challenging.
Whilst Verstappen was able to carve his way through the field during the Australian Grand Prix, having crashed out in Q1 at Albert Park, he was unable to re-create his heroics at the Shanghai International Circuit.
The Dutchman twice suffered poor getaways, tumbling down the order having qualified in the lower reaches of the top 10.
He recovered to ninth in the sprint before a coolant leak forced the Milton Keynes-based team to retire him from the Chinese Grand Prix itself, consigning him to a pointless round.
In Melbourne, Verstappen underlined the ease with which he could breeze past the opposition, en route to sixth, to illustrate his lack of enjoyment, but even if no fun, he was unable to replicate that form in Shanghai.
"We were slower this weekend, so we were fighting Haas and Alpine the whole race," he said to media, including RacingNews365. "Of course, some other cars, yes..."
Changing gear to address — and not for the first time — his dislike of the revamped wheel-to-wheel racing, which has been fundamentally altered by the extreme energy management demands of the new power unit regulations, Verstappen issued a stinging appraisal.
"I mean, look at the racing, we are boosting pass, then you run out of battery. The next straight, they boost past you again," he added.
"For me, it's just a joke."
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