Racing
© Morio
Max Verstappen says Formula 1’s 2026 rules have pushed overtaking away from racecraft and into energy management, leaving drivers able to pass on the straight “by literally doing nothing” when the car ahead has drained its battery.
Speaking ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver said the current pattern of passing is “very different” and “not really” enjoyable. His complaint was not just that overtakes are easier, but that they come in the wrong way. If drivers ahead fight and use up their electrical energy, he said, the car behind can simply clear them on the next straight without having to force a move. “Not how it should be,” Verstappen said, adding that overtakes now happen “in the middle of the straight,” which he called “a bit odd.”
He argued the same problem affects lap time as well as wheel-to-wheel racing. Under the 2026 package, Verstappen said, being quicker in corners can actually hurt a driver because “by being faster sometimes in the corner, you lose more in the straight afterwards.” In other categories, he said, time gained through a corner is normally “free lap time.” In F1 now, drivers have to think about using a different gear, changing their braking technique or altering how they pick up the throttle to avoid paying for that speed later on the straight.
That, in Verstappen’s view, is why the fastest drivers are less able to separate themselves. He said the rules are “basically just neutralising a lot of lap time,” which helps explain why team-mates and rival teams have often been so closely matched this season. “Sometimes you cannot make a difference,” he said. “You’re not allowed to make a difference because it will just penalise you on the next straight.”
Verstappen said he has been warning about these effects for a long time and believes only recently have others started to see the same issues. “I’ve spoken my mind about these regulations already a long time,” he said. “In the beginning most people were saying, ‘ah, he’s complaining, he should shut up’.” He added that “the last few races” have brought more agreement with his view, insisting: “It’s not about me not winning anymore, it’s just because I care about the product.”
He expects the issue to be less severe this weekend than it was at Silverstone and Spa because the Hungaroring is “energy-rich,” but said that does not change his wider verdict on the way the rules shape racing. Verstappen pointed to his Austria move on Lewis Hamilton, which won Formula 1’s Overtake of the Month award, as a simple example of the problem. Asked on the podium how he made the pass, he replied: “I pressed my boost button and suddenly had a bit more horsepower than Lewis.” For Verstappen, that sums up the bigger concern with 2026: not just that overtaking looks different, but that the rules now stop drivers from turning corner speed into a meaningful advantage.