Helmut Marko has urged the FIA to act quickly to reduce the dominance of batteries and software and increase the role of the internal-combustion engine in 2026-spec F1 cars, a critique that mirrors Max Verstappen’s public doubts about the new cars and his own future in the sport.
Verstappen has said he does not enjoy the current cars and is taking time to weigh whether Formula 1 is worth the time away from home and family. The Red Bull driver has also struggled for results this season, with no top-five finishes in the first three rounds. He sits ninth in the standings, a rare slump for a recent champion and a sign of a wider unease inside the camp.
Marko argues the problem goes beyond one driver or one team. He says increasingly complex regulations, hybrid energy deployment, and software-driven strategies are shifting control away from drivers. The racing is changing as more decisions move to algorithms, dashboards, and code. In his view, the sport risks losing what makes it compelling to watch and to compete in if this path continues.
The technical direction for 2026 centers on hybrid systems, energy management, and advanced software. Marko accepts there is a chassis deficit that Red Bull must address, as it has done in past seasons. He warns that the growing importance of software and energy flows now makes performance less about car balance and more about how the power unit harvests and deploys energy. That turns the issue into a systemic one that is harder to fix with updates to the bodywork or suspension alone.
He is calling on the FIA for rapid, concrete changes before the new rules are locked in. His proposals include reducing battery impact on lap time and restoring more emphasis to the internal-combustion engine. He says the current pause in the calendar, with two races canceled, gives the sport a short window to reassess the direction and decide what kind of driving experience it wants to promote in 2026.
If the FIA does not act, both Marko and Verstappen warn that the trend could hit driver morale and alter the sport’s identity. They fear outcomes will look more algorithm-driven than talent-driven, with less room for a driver to shape a race from the cockpit. Their message is that the new era should raise efficiency without pushing drivers to the margins. The next steps rest with the rule makers and how they balance software gains with human skill in the seasons ahead.