Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes Max Verstappen’s “horror show” at Red Bull is contributing to the Dutchman’s criticism of F1’s new 2026 regulations.
After retiring from Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix, where he was running sixth before suffering a power unit cooling problem, Verstappen spoke out about F1’s new car, which brought a different driving and racing style, likening it to “Mario Kart” and branding it a “joke”.
Other drivers have also criticized the racing, but the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers have received mostly positive reviews after George Russell battled for the lead with Charles Leclerc in Australia, followed by a fierce battle between Leclerc, Russell and Lewis Hamilton in the Sprint and Grand Prix in China.
“Well, it’s just Kimi (Antonelli) or George (Russell) winning, right? It’s not really a back-and-forth,” Verstappen said.
“They’re miles ahead of the field. It’s just that Ferrari sometimes gets a good start, then pushes forward and then takes a few laps to sort everything out.”
“But this has nothing to do with racing. If I was going to win races because I’m interested in racing products, I would say the same thing. I’m not upset about my position.”
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Watch the moment Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s wheels come together during a scrap at the Chinese Grand Prix.
The new 2026 power unit splits power 50:50 with the internal combustion engine, creating a different driving style to optimize lap times.
Drivers often have to lift or coast when entering a corner, or do “super clipping” where the car slows down towards the end of the straight to recharge the battery.
For wheel-to-wheel, drivers use boost and overtake modes to overtake rivals, but due to electrical energy limitations, overtaking drivers may have less battery charge and be vulnerable on the next straight.
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Hamilton and Leclerc face off in Ferrari at Chinese Grand Prix
Hamilton described the race as “the best race I’ve ever had in F1” after going back and forth with Leclerc en route to Ferrari’s first podium in Shanghai on Sunday.
Wolff spoke to F1 chief Stefano Domenicali and said “all indicators” showed people “loved” the new race.
He added: “Max is in a horror show. If you look at him onboard in qualifying, he’s just scary to drive. You can see that. But neither are many other teams.”
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Hear how Leclerc compares his epic duel with George Russell to a Mario Kart mushroom.
“From an entertainment point of view, I think what we saw between Ferrari and Mercedes was a good race. There was a lot of overtaking. We were literally part of F1 with no overtaking.”
“Sometimes we get too nostalgic for the good old days. But I think the product itself is good. We saw quite a bit of racing in the midfield as well.”
“From a driver’s point of view, it’s a different story when it comes to qualifying laps. Obviously, lifting and coasting in qualifying is something I’m sure is difficult for someone like Max, who is good at full attacks, to deal with and digest.”
“But I think it’s more of a car-specific problem that magnifies the problem because when you’re sitting in front of a TV or a screen, even Max would say it’s interesting to race in front of him.”
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Mercedes and Ferrari join the race as Russell and Leclerc battle for P1 at Australian Grand Prix
Mekies: “Red Bull has serious flaws”
At the season opener in Melbourne, he crashed out of qualifying due to an ERS failure that locked the rear axle, but after recovering to 6th place, Verstappen failed to score any points in Shanghai, finishing 9th in the sprint and retiring from the main grand prix.
Verstappen has also struggled to start because he didn’t have a battery when starting off the grid, and has lost several positions off the line in each race so far this season.
“This weekend was particularly bad. It would have been helpful if I could start normally too! I always end up falling to the end,” he told Sky Sports F1.
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Verstappen crashes into barrier during Q1 of Australian Grand Prix
“The big problem for us is tire deterioration. We have a lot of tire deterioration, probably more than the people around us, so that’s one of the things we have to solve.”
“Then you solve the problem. But it’s not easy. You can see it all over the grid. Some cars can’t even start. It’s all very complicated.”
“The team is doing the best they can. They’re giving it their all. It’s tough because we know they can do it. But at the moment we’re not where we want to be. We’ve had more problems than we expected, balance-wise we’re not where we want to be. A lot has happened, but hopefully after Japan we can take a big step forward.”
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Verstappen retires from Chinese GP due to electrical failure in Red Bull
“In terms of performance, our package had some serious shortcomings,” Red Bull team principal Laurent Mequise said.
“However, we have learned a lot over the past few weeks and we expect to be even more competitive from the next round in Japan in two weeks.”
F1 will next head to the iconic Suzuka Circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix from March 27-29, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
