BARCELONA, Spain -- Max Verstappen said Formula 1’s recent changes to its controversial new engine are a step in the right direction, but did not say whether it would be enough to convince him to stay in the sport beyond 2026.
Verstappen has been the biggest critic of F1’s new V6 hybrid turbo engines, which have placed an unprecedented focus on battery charging and power deployment.
His dislike of them has been so strong he said earlier this year they could convince him to retire from the sport at the end of the season.
F1 this week agreed a tweak to the composition of those engines -- they are currently split nearly 50-50 between the internal combustion engine (ICE) and electrical power.
That will shift will be 58/42 in favour of the ICE in 2027 and then to 60/40 by 2028.
Verstappen had previously said a move to 60-40 would be the “bare minimum” needed to keep him in the sport in 2027.
Asked how he felt having to wait an extra year for that outcome, he said: “I do think that it was nice to see that changes are being made, of course, already this year, but then also for next year. Of course, I would have hoped that next year would have been already, let’s say, what we get in 2028. But I also understand that there is sometimes politics involved for that.
“But at least the changes that they are making are heading in the right direction. So I guess that’s it. Yeah, that’s a good thing.”
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The Dutchman’s general outlook about the sport has improved of late -- Verstappen and Red Bull have seen an uptick in performances across the past two races.
Verstappen claimed a podium in Canada and then qualified behind Kimi Antonelli on the front row of the grid in Monaco, only to stall on the line and retire after one lap.
The Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix is often seen as the best test of a team’s overall package due to its mix of track characteristics and high-speed corners.
The four-time world champion said it was too early to predict his improved form could carry on this weekend.
“For us it’s most important just to see how our car performs in the high speed corners first of all, then after that maybe we can set targets. But we don’t know. We know that we had issues with that before. So we need to fix that first,” Verstappen added.
“Of course we have changed quite a few things on the car the last few weekends. But I don’t know yet how competitive we are going to be.”
