Max Verstappen came to the defense of Gabriel Bortoleto’s assessment of the 2026 Formula 1 cars. The four-time world champion said he agreed with the Brazilian, stating that the drivers’ ability to adapt has become more important than a defined driving style.
Read more F1: Cadillac shifts focus and sees Ugochukwu as an alternative for the future
The statements were made after Bortoleto commented that the current cars require constant adjustments from drivers according to the behavior of the equipment. When informed of the Audi driver’s opinion, Verstappen immediately supported the analysis and emphasized that, in the current generation, insisting on a single style can cost performance.
“Who said that?” Verstappen replied when informed about Bortoleto’s statements. Then, he agreed with the Brazilian: “Yes, he is right. Your driving style always needs to adapt to what is fastest. I could say: ‘This is my driving style and this is how I drive the car,’ but I can guarantee that, at Spa, you would lose half a second,” he said.
The Dutchman continued, saying that this characteristic highlights how the current cars present unusual challenges: “This shows how things are strange at the moment. Welcome to Formula 1 in 2026, sometimes it’s like a jungle.” Despite this, Verstappen pointed out that adaptation has always been part of any driver’s career: “Gabriel is right. You need to adapt. Your ability to adapt is incredibly important. But this applies to any category you have competed in until you reach Formula 1. I think you always have to adapt to what works best for the car you are driving at that moment,” he said.
Read more F1: McLaren creates group to get more out of Mercedes power unit
Bortoleto, in turn, said he does not believe in the concept of a fixed driving style for drivers in the category: “I don’t think I have changed my way of driving much. Actually, I don’t even like the term ‘driving style,’ because I don’t believe a Formula 1 driver should say something like that,” he added. According to the Brazilian, the important thing is to drive the car the way it demands, even if it doesn’t seem natural.
As an example, Bortoleto explained that one of the necessary adaptations in 2026 involves energy management on corner exits: “Because of that, you know you can attack the corner entry a bit more and worry less about the exit, since there will be no energy use at that point. Or the opposite happens, because sometimes you need to be more cautious on entry because there is a long straight where a lot of energy will be used. These are the things that need to be adjusted. Last year, all of this was much more consistent, so it was necessary to consider this much less frequently,” concluded the Brazilian driver.
Read more F1: São Paulo GP will have new exclusive ticket sales
