Max Verstappen told he’s now in the same boat at Red Bull as Lewis Hamilton was at Ferrari in 2025

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Gian Carlo Minardi feels Max Verstappen is only “struggling” because of how Red Bull read the 2026 F1 regulations, like Lewis Hamilton flopped in 2025 due to Ferrari’s car.

Hamilton had what he confessed was his “worst season ever” in Formula 1 in his first year as a Ferrari driver last term. The 41-year-old failed to score a Grand Prix podium in a season for the first time, and ended 2025 with consecutive Q1 exits in Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

But Hamilton has enjoyed a return to form at the start of the 2026 regulations era, with the Briton enjoying a double-podium performance in Shanghai last time out. Hamilton took his first podium for Ferrari with P3 in the Chinese Grand Prix, after also sealing P3 in the Sprint.

In contrast, Hamilton’s arch-rival Verstappen has endured a difficult start to the 2026 season with Red Bull. The 28-year-old recovered from crashing in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix to finish P6, but he only took P9 in the Shanghai Sprint and retired from the Chinese GP.

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Max Verstappen is only ‘struggling’ in 2026 because of Red Bull’s car

A coolant fault made Verstappen retire from the Chinese GP whilst running P6, behind Haas’ Oliver Bearman. Isack Hadjar had shown the Red Bull RB22 had promising qualifying pace in Australia, yet he and Verstappen were both slower in Q3 than Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in China.

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Minardi thinks Verstappen “struggling” simply because of how Red Bull have adapted to the 2026 regulations compared to their rivals is akin to the plight that Hamilton had at Ferrari in 2025, when he struggled to adapt to the SF-25 and the Scuderia’s woeful ride height issues.

“It is clear that if you don’t have the car, you are not going anywhere,” Minardi told Fanpage. “You see it with Verstappen struggling today. You saw it with Hamilton last year. The driver is a big part of the result – but without the car, you do not get very far.”

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Hamilton endured a self-proclaimed “nightmare” first season at Ferrari in 2025 due to team boss Fred Vasseur deciding to stop the development of the SF-25. Vasseur stopped Ferrari from upgrading the SF-25 in April 2025, as he wanted to focus only on the 2026 regulations.

In contrast, Red Bull continued to upgrade the RB21 deep into 2025 to help Verstappen eye a fifth consecutive drivers’ title, which almost paid off. He overturned a 104-point deficit to Oscar Piastri after 15/24 rounds to finish just two shy of Lando Norris, who he trailed by 70.

Red Bull knew that focusing on 2025 could harm them in 2026, and Verstappen and Hadjar are now paying that price. Red Bull are aware that their chassis is not up to par in 2026, as their new in-house power unit is not the main cause of their deficit to Mercedes and Ferrari.