After Christian Horner, Max Verstappen also launches a scathing attack on the 2026 F1 regulations

Reigning F1 World Champion Max Verstappen has criticized the upcoming F1's 2026 engine rules, saying "It looks very bad" from what he understood of Red Bull's interpretation.

This is what Verstappen had to say:

“That’s not the way forward, it looks like it’s going to be an ICE competition. So, whoever has the strongest engine will have a big benefit.It looks very bad, from all the numbers and what I see from the data already."

Explaining further what he thinks of the engine regulations of 2026, Max Verstappen elucidates that the strongest internal combustion engine of any team's car would have a big advantage.

He also said that F1 shouldn't have that intention to go forward as this will spill out into a massive development war, which would be a pricey affair to find a few horsepower.

The cars should have less drag so that it becomes difficult for the opponent to overtake on the straight.

Max Verstappen prefers to control the aerodynamics himself, and an alteration in the rule in 2026 would make his driving awkward.

In the words of Max Verstappen:

"When you are behind someone maybe you need more front or more rear, this kind of thing. If the system starts to control that for you, I don’t think that’s the right way forward."

Max Verstappen isn't the only one who is concerned about the 2026 engine protocols

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner also publicly expressed his concerns about F1's 2026 engine and chassis rules. Horner is negotiating his concerns in private during the F1 Commission meetings.

Inferences from this situation seem to suggest that Red Bull's strong stance on the 2026 engine rules might mean their first F1 engine isn't progressing well.

Red Bull has set up an entirely new engine division to build their own F1 engine for the first time in partnership with automotive company Ford. Some of them have questioned whether this alliance is technical or commercial.

The Mercedes team boss attacked Red Bull, saying the team is "frightened" as their car might not be as competitive.

Defending the team and countering Wolff's attack, Horner said that the Mercedes chief is focused on self-performance while he is looking out for the overall good of the team.

Even if they think it reflects a portion of the 2026 regulations that is a valid concern—that the engine and chassis rules have been established too independently and need to be developed more closely—some senior figures have ignored Horner's concerns.

However, because teams and producers have more than two years to perfect their products, it is not thought to be as dramatic as made out.