Starting 20th and finishing sixth, Max Verstappen showed his speed but remains concerned about the future of the F1, which he considers too far from his ideals.
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Max Verstappen delivered an impressive comeback at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, moving from 20th to sixth place after a qualifying accident. Despite this result, the four-time world champion was not satisfied and described the race as “chaos”.
“For me, I overtook a lot of cars because we were two seconds faster per lap. But honestly, I don’t really have words to describe the situation,” explained the Red Bull driver after the race.
Verstappen admitted that this comeback had been a “damage limitation” operation, notably due to a catastrophic start: “I had no battery left. On the formation lap, it drained, so at the start, I was at zero, no power, essentially.”
Criticism of F1’s direction
For several weeks, Verstappen has been critical of the direction taken by F1, with a 50/50 balance between internal combustion and electric power and increased demands on battery management.
According to him, the sport has lost part of its identity: “We want it to become real Formula 1 again, overboosted, but today, that wasn’t the case.”
He stressed that drivers and fans share these concerns and called on the FIA to act: “I’m giving my opinion on what I’d like to see and what would be better for the sport. We want the competition to be more enjoyable for everyone.”
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An uncertain future for Verstappen?
Asked about his motivation to continue in F1, Verstappen gave a cautious answer: “I love driving, but you can only take so much, right? I hope the FIA and F1 will really listen and act.”
He believes the year could still see technical solutions emerge: “Let’s see what we can do this season to make F1 exciting and fair again.”
Beyond the criticism, Verstappen explained that his pace had been impacted by tire degradation and graining on the hard compounds.
“I found a bit of pace in the middle of the pack, but it was clear that the hard tires didn’t work as expected. The mediums were better today.”
Despite these difficulties, the Dutchman maintains a constructive outlook: learning from the race to prepare for the rest of the season and pushing F1 to regain its level of excitement and competitiveness.
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