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Max Verstappen has taken another step to act on his dismay over the 2026 F1 regulations, according to a report, with the Dutchman tabling some ‘options’ for the FIA to improve the new ruleset.
Max Verstappen’s difficult weekend in Shanghai can be summarised by it being the very first Sprint race round of his career where he failed to bring a single point back to Milton Keynes.
The Dutchman narrowly missed out on a points-paying position in the Sprint on Saturday, before an electrical issue put an end to his Chinese Grand Prix with just 11 laps remaining.
Is Toto Wolff planting the seeds for poaching Max Verstappen from Red Bull? 🤔
All in all, it was a fairly disastrous weekend for the Red Bull Racing outfit, described by Toto Wolff as a ‘horror show’ after seeing Verstappen’s onboard footage.
Isack Hadjar’s four points from the Grand Prix also marked the Austrian constructor’s worst haul since last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
With Mercedes securing one-twos in both of the longer format races so far in 2026, Red Bull now sit 86 points adrift of the championship leaders already, and Verstappen has taken matters into his own hands as his frustrations with the new ruleset continue to eat at him.
Max Verstappen has tabled some ‘options’ for the FIA to make improvements to the F1 regulations
In a Chinese Grand Prix review episode of the Paddockpraat podcast, F1 journalist Frank Woestenburg detailed how Verstappen’s ire with the current trajectory of the sport has led him to offer some improvements.
The Dutch reporter said, “He’s spoken to the FIA and the FOM to put some options on the table for some short-term improvements, which primarily concern the balance between the combustion engine and the battery, which is currently 50-50.
“That actually means the battery’s share would be reduced slightly. In the short term, that could be an improvement. But he’s still not a fan of the new rules. And he hopes that there will be new rules after all. Something that can be changed, and, fortunately for him, he has gained some supporters.
Sam Bird thinks Max Verstappen will be ‘livid’ after losing six places at the start of the Shanghai Sprint
Are the 2026 F1 regulations too complicated if even Verstappen makes such a poor start?
“The FIA has indicated that they will look into it, and in that sense, it’s a blessing in disguise that some races are now being cancelled due to the turbulent situation in the Middle East.
“So perhaps it will be in the period after that that a few quick fixes are implemented.”
- READ MORE: Max Verstappen’s unheard radio frustrations at the Chinese GP highlight Red Bull’s 2026 issues
F1 fans haven’t been happy with Max Verstappen’s ongoing criticism of the new regulations
After Verstappen’s critique of the new regulations turned some heads during pre-season testing, his desire to make amendments to the rules has been widely reported.
Just last week, after the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, it came to light that Verstappen was ‘pushing hard’ for Formula One Management (FOM) to make a rule change in order to defend F1’s credibility as a ‘real racing’ category.
However, fans are growing tired of Verstappen’s unrelenting criticism of the sport.
His latest comments after the Chinese Grand Prix labelled the rules as a ‘joke’, with Juan Pablo Montoya also noting that he should be fined for his prior comments in Shanghai that compared the new F1 regulations to Mario Kart.
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