Max Verstappen 'fed up' with F1 criticism as rivals come to sour grapes realisation

Max Verstappen has explained why he is "fed up" with "repeating" his criticism of F1's engine rules, as he explained that rivals are suddenly coming to a realisation he had in 2023.

The four-time champion has been perhaps the most vocal of the drivers in decrying F1's 50:50 power output split engines, branding them as "anti-racing" and like "Formula E on steroids" during pre-season testing. 

In 2023, Verstappen had already voiced doubts about the engine regulations, then three years on the horizon, describing that "it looks pretty terrible. If you go flat out on the straight at Monza, I don't know what it is, like 400 or 500 [metres] before the end of the straight, you have to downshift flat out because that's faster. I think that's not the way forward.

"But for me, the problem is, it looks like it's going to be an ICE competition, like whoever has the strongest engine will have a big benefit. But I don't think that should be the intention of Formula 1, because then you will start a massive development war again, and it will become quite expensive to find probably a few horsepower here and there. I think it actually should be the opposite."

Across the first 10 races of the 2026 season, the weaknesses of the 50:50 engine power split have become apparent, with the ratio set to be tweaked for 2027 and 2028 up to 60:40 by the latter in favour of the ICE, thus reducing dependence on the batteries.

At the start of 2026, when Verstappen's Red Bull was struggling for performance and he was at his most critical, Verstappen claimed that F1 was not "mentally doable" unless something changed, but critics of him raised the idea that he was only expressing sour grapes as he was not in a position to challenge for grand prix wins and be in title contention. 

At recent energy-starved circuits such as Silverstone and Spa, the criticism of the rules were common among drivers, with lift and coast and super-clipping pre-eminent, especially at Spa. 

It is something Verstappen picked up on as he explained that he would simply offer his opinion on the topic - as others come to the realisation that he did nearly three years ago. 

"I have spoken my mind about these regulations already for a long time, and in the beginning, most people were saying: 'Ah, he's complaining, he should shut up', but I have to say that at the last few races, more and more people are seeing the same thing I could see coming for a long time," Verstappen told media, including RacingNews365. 

"And it is not about me not winning any more; it is just because I care about the product, and because I've said it so many times, at one point, it becomes enough, right?

"But of course, people keep asking, and maybe it is not always appreciated, but I am just speaking my mind because you see certain things, and then sometimes people say: 'Ah, yeah, but this was a great race.'

"I said: 'Yeah, but it is not really realistic, the way that we are racing,' and then you arrive at some tracks, and you are driving on not a lot of horsepower for F1 standards, and it is a little bit painful, which I could see already coming for years.

"So then of course, it is not the most exciting, but at one point, I am also a little bit fed up with repeating myself, because it is already hard enough just having to drive it."