Racing
© Jonathan Borba
Jos Verstappen has backed Max Verstappen’s criticism of Formula 1’s 2026 regulations, saying the new direction has made the sport so unappealing that he sometimes “switch[es] the TV off” while watching.
Speaking to RaceXpress, Jos Verstappen, who made 106 F1 starts between 1994 and 2003, said the series has moved away from what drivers and fans once expected from Formula 1. “It’s madness to say that GT3 is a better race than Formula 1. It used to be the other way round,” he said. “All those GT3 lads were desperate to get a taste of what it’s like in Formula 1, but these days that’s hard to come by.”
His main complaint was that the 2026 package asks too much of the car’s energy systems and leaves too little in the driver’s hands. Jos said the cars are no longer rewarding enough to drive or compelling enough to watch. “It’s not the Formula 1 that Formula 1 stands for,” he said. “The driver has to rely heavily on the car and can no longer make a difference as a driver. I think that’s a shame in Formula 1.”
He pointed in particular to high-speed sections, where he believes top drivers should still be able to separate themselves. Referring to the first sector in Japan, he said drivers “really need to be able to make a difference” in fast corners, but “you just can’t do that with this car and certainly not with that battery that you have to keep recharging.”
That stance closely mirrors Max Verstappen’s own line on the regulations. During pre-season testing in Bahrain in February, Max compared the 2026 concept to “Formula E on steroids,” and last week at a Viaplay event he welcomed efforts to revise the package while arguing the problem runs far deeper. “The fact that we’re talking [about changes to the rules] is already a step forward,” he said. “The problem is simply that you can tweak these regulations a bit, but fundamentally something is wrong. Not everyone will admit that publicly, but it’s true.”
The debate intensified on Monday when the FIA confirmed a series of changes to the 2026 rules after a high-level meeting with Formula One Management, teams and power unit manufacturers. The adjustments are focused mainly on energy management and safety, and are due to come into effect from the next race in Miami on May 3.
Even with those revisions, Max made clear he does not see the current changes as enough to fix the underlying concept. “I’m just trying to adapt to it,” he said. “Even though I’ll be retiring in a few years’ time, I do want it to remain a decent sport. Something has to change. In that case, I would choose to have the V10 or V8 engines brought back.”
With Jos now publicly echoing the same concerns, the criticism around the 2026 rules is no longer coming only from F1’s most outspoken current driver, but from inside the Verstappen camp as a whole, sharpening the pressure on the FIA’s revised package before it reaches Miami.