Verstappen: We drive what we get

Red Bull and Verstappen have been the first to raise their voice in concern about the new regulations for 2026 with power units delivering internal combustion and electric power on a 50/50 ratio, claiming the car will run out of power at the end of straights.

But the FIA and Formula One Management have played down those concerns, and now the chassis regulations for 2026 have been released with active aero incorporated to compensate for lack of power on the straights.

Drivers have been asked about their impressions following the release of the 2026 regulations, and Max Verstappen gave his view facing the media in Montreal on Thursday.

He said: "To be honest, I'm quite in the middle. I mean, new rules are new rules. I do think that it's a bit of a consequence of the engine as well. The say it's 50/50, of course, with the engine and battery, but it's not really like that.

"So that's why we need the active aero, of course, on the straight to reduce the drag to make it all more sustainable to do it proper lap, otherwise, you run out of battery, which I think was a problem that they found out.

"But besides that, I think the only thing is; the longer you keep the regulations the same, the closer it gets between the teams, so 2026 will be probably quite a big reset. Also, not only from the car performance side, but also from the engine side.

"You know people can hit the regulation well, and have a big advantage on the engine. Maybe it's just something that we don't know at the moment. But some people will probably feel more confident about that than others.

"But the other way, of course, F1 wanted to attract new manufacturers as well," the Dutchman pointed out, "and you need a real change for that to happen.

"I mean, we'll see, I guess maybe I am very positively surprised when I jump in the real car, and I'm like, 'Oh, this is amazing'. I don't know.

"But at the moment, I'm in the middle, like, whatever, you know, we drive we we get," Verstappen maintained.

Asked if he's driven the 2026 car in the simulator, the Red Bull ace said: "I've seen a lot of simulation. Of course, it's not suddenly come out now.

"It's something that's been around and fine tuned, of course, and I have to say from the first time that I saw it to the latest updates that I've seen, I think they made really good progress and how the engine is, let's say, working with the chassis.

"We've heard some tracks, I think it will look better than others. And actually, when you're more like energy limited, it's something that we have to deal with," the triple F1 Champion concluded.