The four-time world champion has been one of the strongest critics of the new-for-2026 cars, which place a greater emphasis on electrical energy management and automated power deployment.
Verstappen initially faced claims that his complaints were linked to Red Bull’s struggles, but concerns became more widespread following races at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps where drivers were heavily affected by electrical deployment and a loss of power before reaching the end of the straights.
Oscar Piastri was particularly critical after the Belgian Grand Prix, describing the role of self-learning deployment systems in determining performance as a “pretty crap way of going racing”.
Speaking ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Verstappen said others were now recognising the problems he had warned about before the regulations arrived.
“I’ve spoken my mind about these regulations already a long time,” Verstappen said.
“In the beginning most people were saying, ‘ah, he’s complaining, he should shut up’. But I have to say that the last few races, more and more people are seeing the same thing that I could see coming already a long time ago.
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“And it’s not about me not winning anymore, it’s just because I care about the product.”
Drivers have struggled with electrical deployment at circuits with longer straights, where small differences in throttle application could influence how much power remained available later in a lap.
Verstappen said the system could punish drivers for carrying greater speed through corners and prevent them from gaining the advantage they ordinarily would.
“It’s just your throttle input,” he said.
“By being faster sometimes in the corner, you lose more in the straight afterwards, which, of course, is not how it should be.
“In every kind of racing series, if you gain time in the corner, that’s just free lap time. You would not then be penalised on the straight, normally.”
He added that drivers were instead forced to alter their technique to protect energy rather than simply extracting the maximum performance from the car.
“Where now, you really have to think about, ‘oh, I have to use a different gear, braking technique, or the way you go back on throttle’,” he said.
Verstappen believed the restrictions had also contributed to smaller gaps between drivers, particularly within teams.
“It’s basically just neutralising a lot of lap time, and that’s why, I guess, in general, you see a lot of close battles between teams and also teammates, because sometimes you cannot make a difference,” he said.
“You’re not allowed to make a difference because it will just penalise you on the next straight.”
The Dutchman also criticised how the regulations had changed overtaking, arguing that drivers could complete passes simply because the car ahead had already used its available battery power.
“It’s very different. I don’t really enjoy it that much,” he said.
“Sometimes it’s actually very funny where you see people in front of you fighting, they’re using their battery and actually by doing nothing, you just pass them.
“You just pass them on the next straight by literally doing nothing.”
Verstappen added that active aerodynamics had further changed the nature of racing by reducing drag and allowing some passes to be completed before the braking zone.
“I prefer to draft up to someone and then maybe go for an overtake on the brakes or whatever,” he said.
“Now, the overtake sometimes is done in the middle of the straight, it’s a bit odd.
“The problem is, of course, that real racing fans understand. The non-racing fans think it’s cool because you just see more overtakes, but it’s not real. It’s not what racing is about.”
The issue was expected to be less pronounced at the Hungaroring because of its shorter straights, but Verstappen said he had grown tired of repeatedly explaining his concerns.
“At one point, I am also a little bit fed up with repeating myself, because it is already hard enough just having to drive it,” he said.
Verstappen currently sits seventh in the drivers’ standings on 91 points.
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