Jonathan Wheatley: Max Verstappen's F1 2026 criticism is "because of where he finds himself"  

Audi Formula 1 team principal Jonathan Wheatley reckons Max Verstappen's criticism of the 2026 regulations is partly down to the difficulties Red Bull faced over the first two weekends of the new season. 

Having warned about the prospect of severe energy saving issues for years, Verstappen has been frustrated with the reality of driving and racing F1's 2026 cars, going so far as to label the new formula as "anti-racing" and "Formula E" on steroids. He went further in China, saying: “It’s terrible, if someone likes this, then you really don't know what racing is about.

“It’s not fun at all. It’s playing Mario Kart. This is not racing. You are boosting past, then you run out of battery the next straight, they boost past you again. For me, it's just a joke.”

Verstappen is not alone in his searing criticism among the drivers, while China podium finisher Lewis Hamilton said the race was among the most enjoyable of his career after he came out on top of a frantic scrap with Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.

According to Audi team boss Wheatley, who knows Verstappen very well from their time together at Red Bull, his former team's struggles this year with the RB22 play a big part in the four-time world champion's discontent.

"If you spoke to the two Ferrari drivers, they said it was a brilliant day," Wheatley said. "If you can't win, then if you can just race cleanly... I have to say, it didn't look to me like any kind of false racing. Each driver had a go at each other. They raced beautifully, cleanly.

"I enjoyed watching it. There are battles going on in the field that I think are hugely encouraging. I think you can understand Max's comments and that's because of where he finds himself."

Gabriel Bortoleto with Jonathan Wheatley, Audi F1 Team Principal

Photo by: Anni Graf - Formula 1 via Getty Images

F1 and its governing body the FIA are still facing calls to address some of the issues that have cropped up at the start of F1's divisive new era, including safety concerns over the erratic starts and widespread disgruntlement over the need for drivers to harvest energy even on a qualifying lap, which has taken some of the excitement out of F1's fastest corner combinations.

Wheatley said Audi, which specifically joined F1 because of the new, near-50:50 split between electrical and combustion power, was willing to support the FIA to finetune the regulations over the long April break between the Japanese and Miami grands prix.

"We've been open and engaging with the FIA," Wheatley said. "We tried various solutions to that on the last day of Bahrain testing to see what the result would be. I think that shows you everything, really, that we're open, we're working with the FIA.

"We're trying to see if there's something we can do to support them. If anything needs to change, we'll try to do our best to help the FIA make that happen."