Max Verstappen stated that he has already mentally accepted that this weekend’s Italian GP will be “really painful” behind the wheel of the 2026 Formula 1 cars. The main reason is the difficulty of managing battery energy at Monza, a high-speed circuit with high energy demand.
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The Dutchman has been one of the most frequent critics of the new regulation, which splits the contribution of the combustion engine and the electric part 50/50. Monza was already pointed out as one of the biggest tests for this concept, and Verstappen again expressed concern on Thursday.
“Really painful, it is very inefficient in terms of energy, but I also don’t want to be too negative about everything,” he said. “It is what it is, I have mentally accepted it. You just need to prepare for a slightly different weekend. You can’t drive on the limit all the time, you have to be gentle with the throttle.”
Verstappen acknowledged that the FIA and Formula 1 itself have been making adjustments to try to improve the behavior of the cars, but made it clear that he still considers the situation far from ideal. “Changes are being made at many tracks to try to improve, but improving doesn’t mean it’s solved. It’s far from solved.”
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Regarding Red Bull’s competitiveness, the four-time world champion also lowered expectations. “On inefficient tracks, we haven’t been particularly good with energy, so I don’t expect miracles here. It will still be difficult,” he explained.
The scenario is even more worrying because, according to Verstappen, rivals continue to bring updates. “Other teams around us are evolving at the moment. We were already behind before this, so I don’t expect that to change now. We try to learn more about the car and about the things we want to do differently also for next year.”
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