Verstappen says FIA changes are only a 'tickle'

Max Verstappen said ahead of the Miami Grand Prix that Formula 1’s latest FIA rule changes are only a “tickle” and fall well short of what drivers actually need, dismissing the revisions as too minor to make a meaningful difference.

The Red Bull driver was responding to changes announced by the FIA last Monday after criticism from several drivers and Formula 1 fans over the current rules. The adjustments are intended to improve safety and give drivers more freedom to go flat out in qualifying, with the speed differences between cars also set to be reduced in an effort to lower the risk of accidents.

Verstappen said the package does little to address the bigger problem. “This will of course not change the world,” he said in the build-up to Miami. After talks with Formula 1 and the FIA, he added: “I think everyone has tried their best to at least do something. But the changes made are no more than a ‘tickle’. It is still not what we need.”

His criticism fits with a broader frustration he has already voiced this season about the current regulations. Verstappen previously said he is “not fond of racing with this car and managing the batteries,” and his latest comments suggest his view of the direction of the rules has not softened.

That dissatisfaction also continues to feed questions about his longer-term future in Formula 1. Asked again in Miami after earlier doubts he had expressed, Verstappen said there was no update. “I honestly have nothing new to add on that. I have also been busy with other things. I still have time and I am taking that time.”

Verstappen framed the debate against a wider reality that no rulebook can fully remove the risks in racing. Speaking in Florida, he said motorsport will always carry danger, regardless of how much safety improves. “It does not matter how safe you make race cars, you can always hit a wrong angle or simply have bad luck,” he said.

That is what gives his criticism added weight heading into Miami. The FIA has responded to complaints and made changes, but one of the sport’s biggest voices is making clear he does not believe they go far enough, leaving the pressure on the governing body as Formula 1 tries to balance safety, speed and the way its current cars are raced.