Max Verstappen: Red Bull driver renews threat to quit F1 as he says current rules ‘mentally unfeasible’ at Canadian GP | F1 News

Max Verstappen has renewed his threat to leave Formula 1 if the rules of the sport do not change in 2027.

Verstappen revealed at the end of March that he was considering leaving F1 at the end of this season because of his frustration with the new rules for 2026 which force drivers to drive in an unnatural way to increase lap time.

The FIA ​​said last week that an agreement had been reached with the teams for 2027 which would see the power unit split from now close to 50-50 between internal combustion and electric power to 60-40, thus reducing the amount of energy management.

Verstappen said on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix that the proposal boosted his chances of staying in F1 next year as it was “what the sport needs”.

However, he again cast doubt on his future on Saturday after finishing sixth in Sunday’s race in Montreal.

“If it stays like this, next year will end and I don’t want it,” said Verstappen, who has a contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028.

“It’s just not possible mentally for me to stay like this. Absolutely not.”

Asked if he would take a sabbatical in 2027 and return in 2028 if the two-year changes were made, Verstappen replied: “No. There are a lot of other exciting things out there.”

The FIA ​​has already revised the rules for this year from the fourth round in Miami earlier this month which was well received by the drivers.

But, while the 2027 changes have been agreed, the exact details of the changes have not been discussed with ongoing discussions between the F1 engine manufacturers – Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull-Ford, Audi and Honda.

This could lead to any changes being pushed back a year or the tweaks not being enough to convince Verstappen to stay.

He said on Thursday: “I just want a good product in Formula 1, and that [the proposed changes] it will certainly improve productivity.

“What I said before about the changes, I hope that will happen next year, that of course will help a lot. I always said it doesn’t matter if I have a good car or not, it’s just the product, and I think the product will improve like that, so naturally I think the excitement will increase as well.”

Mekies: Verstappen cares about this game

Verstappen has been skeptical of F1’s 2026 rules since 2023 and his criticism of the rules at the start of the season was widely supported by other drivers on the grid.

The 28-year-old raced at the Nurburgring 24 Hours last weekend and has attended six more at the Nordschleife in Germany over the past 12 months as he hones his skills outside of F1.

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies says “it is important that the sport makes changes next year and listens to the drivers.”

“Max cares about this sport, the reason why he speaks like this is because he cares about the fact that Formula 1 is the best in motor sports,” he said.

“You want to see, I’m sure like most of you, you’ve qualified. You want to see fast drivers able to push hard in the corners without losing time because of it. And you’ve been listened to.

“There was a great openness from the stakeholders, from the FIA, from F1, from all the teams to say, ‘Yes, we need to do something about it’.”

Canadian GP schedule for Sky Sports F1

Sunday May 24
3.40pm: F1 Academy Race 3
5pm: F2 Feature Race
7.30pm: Canadian GP build-up: Sunday’s Grand Prix*
9pm: THE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX*
11am: Canadian GP Reaction: Checkered Flag*
12am: Ted’s Book*

*Also on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1 is in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix and another Sprint weekend. Watch live on Sky Sports F1, with Sunday’s race at 9pm. Stream Sky Sports NOW – no contract, cancel anytime