Four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen has been vocal about his discontent with the 2026 cars and the new style of racing they have produced. With the F1 stakeholders set to meet on Thursday, April 9, for the first of the three meetings, the agenda for the same has been reported: Tweaks, not overhauling the rules, which is bad news for the Dutchman, who wants a drastic change in the rules.
The agenda for the F1 Stakeholders meeting is to discuss the few problems that have been identified after the first three races of the 2026 season. All of it is focused on the battery regeneration and deployment as the new regulations split the power dependency equally between the ICE and the electrical system.
The 2026 cars under the current regulations haven’t been able to keep up with the energy demands of the tracks, resulting in the drivers lifting and coasting into the corners to recharge the batteries in order to get the optimal lap time.
Max Verstappen has come out and bashed these new regulations, highlighting the inability to drive flat out, detailing how racing had become all about battery management, and comparing it to “Formula E on steroids” and “Mario Kart”.
Max Verstappen has been demanding rule changes and has even hinted at a possible retirement amid the frustrations with the new regulations. Amid this, the recent reports have come out and suggested that the FIA is only looking at tweaking the regulation following the F1 stakeholders meeting.
The first of the three meetings is set to involve senior technical figures who will ideate solutions and discuss them. The second meeting in the following week will finalize the proposal, with the final one involving the Team Principals, Stefano Domenicali, and the FIA, who will debate and vote upon the proposal.
Reports suggest that the plans include tweaks to Superclipping (Looking at an increase in recovery from 250kW to 350kW) and allowing teams and drivers a wider range of areas and control to deploy electric power where they want.
While the changes to Superclipping will increase the battery deployment over the lap, it still won’t be a proper solution to Max Verstappen’s complaints of managing the battery. Hence, the sport still risks losing the Dutchman, given the possible retirement reports after the Japanese GP.
Max Verstappen’s father provides update on Red Bull driver’s future
Max Verstappen hinted at a possible retirement from F1 after the Japanese GP amid his frustrations with the new regulations. This was followed up by Erik van Haren’s report, who suggested that the Dutchman was seriously considering retiring, and that the next few weeks would be crucial.
Amid this, Max Verstappen’s father, Jos Verstappen, came out and provided an update on the four-time F1 champion’s future, as he said,
“To be honest, I’m a bit worried that Max might lose his motivation. He used to think racing in a Formula 1 car was the best thing in the world, but now I’m rather pessimistic about it. I’d like to say it wasn’t the case, but I do see this becoming a problem with regard to his future.”
Max Verstappen is set to race in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring later this year and won the NLS Race 2 earlier this year before getting disqualified.
Edited by Pranay Bhagi