Max Verstappen has an answer to Formula 1’s unhappy 2026, and it is not an aerodynamic tweak. It is the engine.
Asked on the P1 with Matt and Tommy podcast which single rule he would change, the four-time world champion went straight for the power unit.
“Right now, change the engine back to a V8. It fixes so many things,” Verstappen said.
He wants a naturally aspirated V8 paired with a small battery used only for overtaking, which he argues would make the Drag Reduction System unnecessary.
Read also: Fresh Man City bombshell as Rui Pinto offers to hand over further documents
“A proper V8 is much better for, in every single scenario, you know, so drivability; it’s lighter, much more fun to race with,” he said.
On the battery, he described a push-to-pass setup closer to IndyCar’s.
“Something that is powerful enough to generate an overtake, but at the end of the straight that you need to go for a move,” Verstappen said.
“If you need a tiny battery for a push-to-pass so we also don’t need the DRS anymore, that’s fine.”
Read also: Jorge Jesus responds to Ronaldo’s explosive statement with just 16 words
2026 cars and the energy-management problem
The complaint is squarely about the new power units introduced at the start of this season. The regulations brought in a roughly 50-50 split between internal combustion and battery power, and drivers have spent the opening months arguing that too much of a lap is now decided by energy management rather than driving.
“Naturally when you go into some corners, you either keep it flat or you are just like feathering the throttle,” Verstappen said on the podcast, as reported by Crash.
“In qualifying, you’re just stuck in a certain place where you almost physically can’t make a difference.”
The FIA has already conceded ground on that point, tweaking the electrical deployment rules after the first three rounds of 2026 to reduce the battery’s influence on a lap.
Read also: Daniil Medvedev’s Beijing exit is just the latest entry on a long rap sheet
The FIA already has a V8 plan
Verstappen’s wish is not a fringe one. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem told reporters in May that V8s would return, with 2030 as the preferred date and 2031 as the fallback if the engine manufacturers do not sign off in time.
“V8 is coming,” Ben Sulayem said.
“It’s a matter of time.”
The planned unit, as the FIA has described it, is a turbocharged V8 with “very, very minor electrification”. Ben Sulayem has cited lower weight, less complexity and the engine note as the main gains.
Read also: Enzo Maresca summons Man City stars for private talks after bombshell ruling
A 2030 switch would land in the final year of Verstappen’s extended Red Bull contract.
The V8 was not his only ask. Verstappen also wants shorter race weekends, with FP1, qualifying and the race compressed into Saturday and Sunday and one of the three practice sessions dropped entirely.
“In my ideal world, V8, V10, but I guess it will be more V8 nowadays,” he said.
“A lot more fun to drive.”
Read also: Russian Olympic chief praises Putin as sporting role model in birthday message
