Verstappen questions whether current F1 cars suit any circuit

With Formula 1 due back at Portimão in 2027, Verstappen says the current cars are ill-suited to circuits and questions the quality of battery-influenced overtaking.

GPBeat · Newsroom05 Oct 2026, 23:32 · 1 min

Max Verstappen has questioned whether Formula 1’s current cars suit Portimão – or any circuit – as F1 prepares to return to Portugal in 2027. RacingNews365 Nederland reported the Red Bull driver’s remarks on 2 October, citing the P1 with Matt & Tommy podcast.

Verstappen said he was looking forward to racing in the Algarve. He described Portimão as a beautiful circuit for a single lap, while saying racing there could be difficult. Asked whether the current cars suited the track, he replied that they did not really suit any circuit and that drivers tried to make the best of them.

His criticism went beyond Portimão. Pointing to Monza, Verstappen said battery use had changed the racing: a driver could make a pass, then be overtaken again on the next straight. He described it as yo-yo racing and argued that a high number of passes did not necessarily make for meaningful overtaking.

Verstappen said he hoped the balance would shift towards slightly more combustion-engine power and less battery power in the coming years, though he acknowledged that would be difficult.

Source context

RacingNews365 Nederland’s 2 October account attributes Verstappen’s comments to the P1 with Matt & Tommy podcast.

Claims and supporting evidence 5

In its article by Laurens Stade, RacingNews365 attributes Verstappen’s comments to the podcast P1 with Matt & Tommy. The supplied material is the RacingNews365 account, not the podcast itself.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Provenance of Verstappen’s attributed remarks RacingNews365 article dated 2 October 2026; the podcast recording date is not established by the supplied page. The article supports attribution through RacingNews365 but does not independently establish the wording or full context of the original podcast.

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Asked whether the current cars suit Portimão, Verstappen said, according to RacingNews365, that they do not really suit any circuit and that drivers try to make the best of them. This is his assessment, not an established technical finding.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Verstappen’s assessment of the current F1 cars Current cars as discussed in the article published on 2 October 2026. The supplied source gives his quoted response but no independent test of how the cars perform across circuits.

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RacingNews365 reports that F1 is to return to Portimão the following year. In the podcast remarks it quotes, Verstappen welcomes the return, calls the circuit beautiful for a single lap and says racing there can be difficult.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Portugal and Portimão context The proposed return is in 2027 relative to the article’s 2026 publication; Verstappen’s remarks are reported in October 2026. The future calendar entry is reported by RacingNews365, not separately verified in the supplied material.

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According to RacingNews365, Verstappen used Monza to describe overtaking followed by being passed again on the next straight. He characterized this as yo-yo racing and said the apparent number of overtakes does not necessarily make them genuine overtakes in his view.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Verstappen’s assessment of battery-influenced overtaking His assessment of racing with the current cars, reported on 2 October 2026. The account contains his characterization, not independently measured overtaking data or a technical determination of the battery’s effect.

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Verstappen said he hopes the balance will move toward somewhat more combustion-engine power and less battery power over the coming years, while acknowledging that this is difficult. It is a preference and hope, not a confirmed rule change.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Verstappen’s stated hope for future power balance A hope concerning the years after the October 2026 remarks. No adopted future regulation or timetable for such a change is established by this passage.

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Corrections and updates to this story

05 Oct 2026, 23:32

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This article was produced with AI assistance. Source references make its supporting evidence traceable.