Verstappen compares the 2026 F1 cars to "Formula E on steroids"

Actually, it all depends on what you call motorsport. I recently had a blast watching onboard footage of historic F3 races at Pau: the driver starts with a set of tires, a full tank of gas, and is then alone in his car except for a pit board call each lap. It's this solo driving that patiently gains tenths of a second on the competitor in front; it's breathtaking to watch. The lone driver deserves the victory. But continuing to call F1 the drivers' world championship will no longer really make sense. It will bear little resemblance to these F3 races, but rather to a game of chess managed from the pits where the driver is merely an executor and not directly responsible for his victory, with very little on-track attack on racing lines or braking. The title would then have to be awarded to a team made up of the driver and the pit wall strategists. But it would no longer be a championship of driving skill.

Well done, Max! As usual, you don't mince words, and it's a good thing drivers like you do! Indeed, this 2026 season doesn't promise the kind of excitement we experienced in the 80s, 90s, 2020, 2021, and 2022. It's a sad state of affairs, and believing that this will interest young people (who lack the financial means to participate) is a serious mistake. But money, money, always money—that's all that matters anymore...

It's true that F1 drivers floor the accelerator without a care for fuel consumption. Driving in Formula E is much more subtle and requires additional skills. When Felipe Massa moved to Formula E, he didn't understand race strategy at all and didn't exactly set the world on fire. F1 drivers are going to have to get used to it. It's the future, and I think that eventually we'll see a merger of the two world championships, F1 and Formula E. So, those speed demons, get ready!

There's a deep unease in F1. On one side, you have international manufacturers who want to showcase their technology, but it's increasingly incompatible with sports cars. On the other, you have governing bodies (LM and FOM; the FIA ​​was merely their obedient puppet) who want a spectacle. Since the two are incompatible, they're looking for every possible trick, also aiming to compensate for the unspoken uniformity of the cars, which, by preventing performance differences, stifles overtaking and on-track battles. For several years now, we've had "marshmallow tires" that force drivers to manage and be "driven remotely" by strategists over the radio. Now it's the electric motor, and we're going to see changes in position because one car slows down to recharge, another gives a boost, and then vice versa, so it's no longer really the performance of the car and the driver that determines the competition. The Mario Kart spin-off is an attempt to attract a younger audience... but one that can't afford GP tickets, risking losing everyone else. Not very encouraging at all.

Not really surprised coming from a driver who's never at a loss for words and loves real driving (even if you can criticize a few Mad Max-esque bad boy aspects). It echoes what some armchair commentators were saying here a while back. I'm not sure he'll stay in F1 if the 2026 cars annoy him so much! What does that old wily Fernand think, especially if he's 4 seconds off the pace of the rest of the grid?

Let's wait and see, but if the two most decorated drivers say so, it's going to be interesting! Thanks to the FIA ​​and Le Mans for turning the pinnacle of motorsport into a poor imitation of Mario Kart. Goodbye, drivers. Hello, engineers.