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Max Verstappen has relentlessly taken aim at the 2026 F1 regulations amid his worst start to a year since the 2018 season, yet the Dutchman has not lost faith in Red Bull.
The 28-year-old scored just eight points across the first two rounds of the 2026 season, to even rank eighth in the F1 drivers’ standings level with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson. His results match the 2018 season, when he also sealed one P6 finish and a DNF in the first two rounds.
Verstappen might have taken more points had he not started the Australian Grand Prix from P20 on the grid after crashing in qualifying without a lap time. A coolant leak also forced the four-time champion to retire from the Chinese Grand Prix on Lap 45/55, after running in P6.
But even before he had to retire, Verstappen failed to overtake Haas’ Oliver Bearman in the Chinese GP for P5. He even finished behind Lawson in the Sprint in Shanghai for P7 and P9, along with qualifying behind Alpine’s Pierre Gasly for the Grand Prix by 0.129s in P7 and P8.
Would Max Verstappen be complaining about F1’s 2026 regulations if he had joined Mercedes?
Max Verstappen still feels ‘incredibly supported’ by Red Bull despite his frustrating start to 2026
Verstappen endured a miserable time in China as the Shanghai circuit highlighted Red Bull’s inherent lack of downforce, which is causing balance problems that the team could not sort out. Such was Red Bull’s plight that Verstappen called Sprint Qualifying in China a “disaster”.
READ MORE: The five worst moments of Max Verstappen’s career in Formula 1
Yet Verstappen has aimed his frustrations at the 2026 F1 regulations, calling them “terrible”. The 71-time Grand Prix winner even stated in China that if anyone likes the new regulations then they “really don’t know what racing is about”, as the overtakes are due to the battery.
Red Bull are getting an easier ride in public, as Verstappen has not yet lost faith in the team for whom he has achieved all of his success in F1 to date. Instead, The Athletic reports that Verstappen is still ‘comfortable’ at Red Bull and he feels ‘incredibly supported’ by the team.
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Only the 2026 regulations, rather than Red Bull, are repeatedly causing Verstappen to sound ‘disillusioned’, as he does not enjoy how important the battery has become in the show. But Red Bull have to work on their car to put Verstappen in a position to deliver more than he is.
Verstappen’s faith in Red Bull will likely be put to the test if they fail to improve the RB22 in, at least, the first half of the campaign. The 48-time polesitter can trigger a release clause in his contract through 2028 if he hits the summer break outside the top two in the standings.
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