Max Verstappen has lost his ‘huge advantage in the fast corners’ after F1 changed the rules

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Max Verstappen has been a shadow of his former world-beating ways during the current F1 campaign, with pundit Marc Surer identifying how the Dutchman has lost his ‘huge advantage’ over the rest of the grid due to the new regulations.

The four-time world champion’s concerns over the new regulations have divided drivers and fans alike, and have even fuelled rumours that Verstappen will take a sabbatical from F1 to focus on GT3 racing.

One of the most damning pieces of evidence that supports Verstappen’s frustrations was on display during the Japanese Grand Prix.

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During FP1, onboard footage showed Verstappen’s RB22 lose over 50kph in ‘super clipping’ as he went through the iconic 130R corner, despite having his foot to the floor for the entirety of the sequence.

The corner is one of the fastest on the F1 calendar, and rewards commitment as drivers approach the final chicane of the Suzuka circuit at breakneck speeds.

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Marc Surer highlights how Max Verstappen can’t ‘show off his talent’ in the 2026 F1 cars

Speaking to Formel1.de, former F1 driver Marc Surer noted how Verstappen’s disdain for the new technical regulations is because of them not leaning into his world-beating skillset.

The Swiss pundit pinpointed how 2026 is currently unfolding in a similar vein to Sebastian Vettel’s title-defending 2014 season, in which F1 experienced a power shift in favour of Mercedes amid a new engine formula.

Vettel simply wasn’t able to replicate his dominant form of the prior seasons, a bit like how Verstappen has struggled to claim a podium so far this year.

Surer said, “It’s exactly the same situation where he just says, ‘What’s the point? I can’t use my skills anymore.’ And that’s similar to Max Verstappen today, who was the best with the ground-effect cars today.

“He simply managed to gain a huge advantage in the fast corners with the ground-effect cars, because he had the courage to go in with excess speed, knowing that if you enter the corner at higher speed, you get more downforce.

“Max Verstappen could do that, which is why his team-mates always looked so out of their depth. Now he can’t do that anymore. He’s in the same boat as Sebastian Vettel, saying that with the new regulations, he can’t show off his talent.”

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Marc Surer thinks Sebastian Vettel would love the new generation of F1 cars

Surer also touched upon the reasons why Vettel was so impressive during his four-year dominance in F1. Adrian Newey’s blown diffuser philosophy ended up being a crucial factor in Red Bull’s leading pace, which was subsequently banned in the 2014 rulebook.

“We mustn’t forget that Sebastian Vettel became world champion with the blown diffuser. And then came these hybrid cars with new regulations, new rules, and that advantage was gone,” Surer added.

“That means that when you put your foot down, you had more downforce. And Sebastian Vettel was simply better at exploiting that than anyone else. He was a genius at practically driving into the corner and already putting his foot down to get more downforce.

“No one else executed that as perfectly as he did. And that was gone. With the new regulations, that advantage was gone. And besides, he didn’t like the new regulations.

“But because of the whole hybrid thing, that didn’t suit him. I’d say that today’s Sebastian Vettel, who is green, would love the hybrid now. So that was too early for him.”