Max Verstappen is fed up with F1: "It’s not motor racing&quot anymore;

Max Verstappen is one of the big losers of the Chinese Grand Prix, which he abandoned by retirement after a failure of his Red Bull after, moreover, making a disastrous start in both Sunday and Saturday’s Sprint Race. Deeply critical of the current regulations even before the 2026 season began, the Dutchman also returned to the subject in Shanghai by further treading on the subject. And going so far as to say that today&#8217s Formula 1 is not even definable as a category of motor racing in the strictest sense.

Marco Enzo Venturini

“If anyone likes what we are seeing on the track, it means they really have no idea what motor racing really is’– were Verstappen’s very harsh words at the end of Sunday in Shanghai -. This regulation is not only terrible, it is the worst ever. Just look at the Grand Prix, you make a clear overtake and your battery runs out on the straight, you end up behind again and then you do an equally clear overtake again. This is not motor racing, this is not real racing. And this is not what genuine Formula 1 fans would like to see”.

Verstappen also does not believe that the many battles seen on the track in these first two rainbow events change the substance of his judgment. “In the end only George Russell or Kimi Antonelli wins, there are no battles for real. Mercedes are ahead of everyone else by an’infinity, Ferrari can only take the lead at the beginning of the Grand Prix because of their starting system which is very good. But then everything goes back to normal in two laps. And I would say the same things even if it were me winning and dominating, because what I am interested in is the F1″ product. Meanwhile, however, his commitments outside the Circus increase, such as the recently announced participation in the upcoming 24 Hours of Nürburgring.

Verstappen’s complaints have been on the agenda since February, that is, since the time of the pre-season tests held in Bahrain. On that occasion, the four-time world champion called the new Formula 1 cars on a par with “Formula E on steroids”. Words that drew him criticism from Lando Norris, a longtime friend who has become a bitter rival over the years.

“If he wants, he can retire. Formula 1 is constantly evolving, sometimes the driving sensations improve, sometimes they don’t. We are paid so much to drive, we are not in a position to complain. However, every driver is free to be able to look for something else to do, nobody is forcing us to be here” Norris said in the circumstance. Curiously, the reigning world champion meanwhile found himself sharing Verstappen’s fate by in turn collecting 0 points in Shanghai (where he did not even start). Who knows how much he agrees, meanwhile, with the words that he himself uttered about a month ago…