James Hinchcliffe explains why he doesn’t think Max Verstappen is a 2026 F1 title contender

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Max Verstappen has been a title contender in all of the last five seasons of Formula 1. However, former IndyCar star James Hinchcliffe believes that streak will come to an end in 2026.

Following Lando Norris’ title feat at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Max Verstappen’s chokehold over the drivers’ championship finally came to an end.

The Red Bull star had enjoyed one of the most dominant periods in F1 history in the preceding years and was mightily close to adding a fifth world title through a purple patch that proved to come just one race too late for him.

F1 fans believe Verstappen’s 2024 title is the last one of his F1 career, with some highlighting the Austrian constructor’s collaboration with Ford as a flash point for his future title hopes.

• READ MORE: Guenther Steiner predicts Max Verstappen’s F1 future with fascinating ‘make it happen’ claim

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James Hinchcliffe thinks Red Bull’s engine will let Max Verstappen down

During a pre-season prediction episode of the Off Track with Hinch and Rossi podcast, former F1 driver Alexander Rossi and pundit James Hinchcliffe offered their thoughts on the upcoming campaign.

After the former tipped Verstappen to claim his fifth drivers’ title, the Canadian shot back, offering George Russell as his pick to secure a maiden world championship.

Rossi dubbed Hinchcliffe’s verdict as “boring”, before saying, “It just infuriates me how good he is at driving a race car.”

Hinchcliffe then explained his reasoning, highlighting how he doesn’t think Verstappen will be among the title candidates in the upcoming term.

He said, “He is very good at that. That is an undeniable fact. And if Mercedes kills it with the engines, they’ve got that advantage.

“But then you’ve got to out-develop McLaren, because they’ve got the same engines and they’re obviously hitting on pretty well right now.

“I think it’s going to be between Lando, Oscar and George. I don’t think Max is even going to play, I don’t believe that the engine can do it.”

The current paddock sentiment is that Red Bull’s 2026 F1 engine is inferior to that of their rivals.

The new regulatory overhaul marks the first time that the Milton Keynes-based outfit is developing their own power unit entirely in-house, through their Red Bull Powertrains division.

• READ MORE: Max Verstappen won’t like the ‘noise in the paddock’ that could harm his 2026 chances with Red Bull

David Coulthard thinks Max Verstappen is a better F1 champion than Lewis Hamilton – do you agree?

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2026 could mark the end of Max Verstappen’s tenure at Red Bull if James Hinchcliffe’s prediction is correct

The upcoming Formula 1 campaign may mark a decisive season for the Red Bull career of Verstappen, and if Hinchcliffe’s verdict on his title hopes is correct, we could see the Dutchman racing in brand new colours in 2027.

Verstappen is adamant that he doesn’t want to race in F1 forever, and so it is integral for him to be in the best possible position to win titles before he calls it a day on his career in the category.

It is understood that the 27-year-old has a clause in his contract that allows him to leave at the commencement of the summer break if he is outside of the top-three contenders in the title race.

Helmut Marko has a similar sentiment to Hinchcliffe regarding Verstappen’s chances, and given the recently retired executive’s long-standing position at the Austrian constructor, it does hold a bit more weight than that of the F1 pundit’s.