Max Verstappen’s ‘anti-racing’ swipe dismissed by David Coulthard

Max Verstappen’s frustration with F1’s 2026 rules may dominate the headlines, but David Coulthard insists it will count for nothing when the lights go out in Melbourne.

Verstappen recently hit out at F1’s driving dynamics in the 2026 machines, which he billed as “anti-racing” and “Formula E on steroids”.

Coulthard insists Verstappen will focus only on winning in Melbourne

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Following on from Formula 1’s behind-closed-door test in Barcelona, the drivers headed to Bahrain last week for a three-day outing that was marked as the first official pre-season test.

Red Bull covered 343 laps over the three days, with Verstappen putting in a marathon 136 on Day One.

That gave the four-time World Champion a good feel for the new regulations, and it’s fair to say he wasn’t impressed.

“I would say the right word is management,” he told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets, adding that “the feeling is not very F1-like. It feels a bit more like Formula E on steroids.

“As a pure driver, I enjoy driving flat out, and, at the moment, you cannot drive like that.”

He went on to call the new regulations “anti-racing” and hinted that it could be a deciding factor in his future as he is “exploring other things outside of Formula 1 to have fun at”.

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And having fun out on track, “at this stage of my career” means more to Verstappen than winning.

Or so he says.

However, former F1 race winner Coulthard believes there are really only two things a racing driver cares about – being fast and being first.

That, he says, will be all that’s on Verstappen’s mind when the season begins in Melbourne with FP1 on 6 March.

“At the end of the day, when it comes to racing, when the lights go out, you just want to be fast and you want to be first,” the former McLaren driver told talkSPORT.

“He’s [Max] in, believe it or not, his 12th season of Formula 1. So, he’s been around for a few years. He’s built the respect of his competitors.

“He’s got the right to have an opinion in terms of the driving experience. But he’ll not be thinking about that when he gets to Melbourne.

“He’ll just be thinking, ‘right, how do I exploit this potential to the best of my ability?’ And there’ll be a winner at the end.

“That’s the wonderful thing about racing. Once all the talking stops, it’s about the stopwatch and it’s about the chequered flag.”

‘But never write off Max Verstappen’

The Scot reckons Verstappen could yet be first this season.

Although Mercedes has been billed as the favourite, with George Russell tipped to win the title, Verstappen proved last season that he cannot be ruled out.

Last year, the Red Bull driver overturned a 104-point deficit to beat Oscar Piastri to second place in the standings, and finished just two points down on new champion Lando Norris.

“I spoke to Max a couple of days ago and when I asked him ‘Who are your competitors?’ he went anyone with a Mercedes engine,” Coulthard said.

“Well, there’s three teams [ed’s note, four as Alpine will run Mercedes engines this year] that have got Mercedes engines. Mercedes themselves, McLaren, and Williams.

“Williams look a little bit on the back foot. So right now if you had to place a bet, then probably George Russell for world champion is not a bad bet.

“But never write off Max.

“And I was reading earlier that Ferrari have been quite good on the long runs.

“So maybe a newly loved-up Lewis Hamilton will rediscover his form and he’ll win his eighth world title.”

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