Max Verstappen offers old-fashioned solution to 'deciding lap time' in F1

Max Verstappen has called for Formula 1 to strip away the layers of energy management that now shape every lap, arguing the sport has strayed too far from the basics of driving.

Four-time F1 champion Verstappen has been among the most vocal critics of the current power unit regulations, which scrapped the MGU-H and pushed the MGU-K's output to 350 kW as part of a near 50/50 split between combustion and electrical power.

The change was designed to draw new manufacturers into the sport and boost road relevance, but it has also forced drivers into heavy energy conservation, including lifting, downshifting on straights and managing battery deployment rather than simply racing flat out.

Speaking to the media, including RacingNews365, the Red Bull explained that even routine moments on track, such as pulling away at the start, have become complicated by the software running in the background.

"The start-up procedure can take four or five seconds," said Verstappen. "Then normally you can just drive off.

"The problem is there is all the software in the background that can make you not pull away, or there is a glitch, or whatever. Even on slow laps, there's stuff that can happen.

"When you cross the line, you should be able to lift off and not worry about charging your battery or making sure that it's hitting the top of the pack at the right time.

"Or at the start as well, being sure that the battery is in the right place, and in an overtake, that the battery needs to be in the right place.

"You shouldn't be thinking about where to lift off, or to go down the gear to make sure that you have better deployment."

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Verstappen - 'Not what racing should be about'

Verstappen went on to argue that such calculations have no place in the sport at its purest.

"All these kinds of things, that's not what racing should be about," said Verstappen. "You should be able to go out, have a brake pedal and a throttle pedal, and that's what decides the lap time."

Verstappen's comments come after the FIA and power unit manufacturers were forced into a mid-season intervention, adjusting deployment and boost parameters after driver feedback and simulator work flagged dramatic closing speeds and cars slowing abruptly on full-throttle straights.

The FIA has since agreed phased adjustments over the next two seasons, moving to a 60-40 split in 2028, to rebalance future power units back toward the combustion engine.

For Verstappen, the appeal is straightforward: a simpler car, with lap time decided by driver input alone.