Max Verstappen ‘lost advantage’ theory put forward by his former F1 team boss

Franz Tost is enjoying the new era of Formula 1 racing, but he understands why drivers like Max Verstappen aren’t happy with the battery harvesting and super clipping.

After all, it takes away one of the driver’s strengths – braking late.

Franz Tost explains Max Verstappen’s frustration with 2026 F1 cars

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Verstappen dominated Formula 1’s ground-effect aerodynamic era with Red Bull, winning three of four world championships, including a record-breaking 19 Grand Prix wins in a 22-race season in 2023.

He lost the world title to Lando Norris in the final season of that era as McLaren caught and passed Red Bull on the track.

His chances of winning it back in the first season with Formula 1’s new generation of cars have been sorely dented in the first seven race weekends with Verstappen on 55 points to championship leader Kimi Antonelli’s 156.

The Dutch racer has made it clear that he’s not enjoying the new era, not because of the technical regulations, but because of the new engine rules.

This year’s power units are run on a 50/50 split between electrical and combustion power that has necessitated battery harvesting and super clipping at the end of the straights to recharge the batteries.

Not only are the drivers losing speed as they reach the end of the straights, but they also aren’t able to attack the corners full-on as they could with the previous engines.

While many of the drivers aren’t happy, Verstappen has been the most vocal.

The Red Bull driver has called today’s generation of cars “Mario Kart” or “Formula E on steroids”, and simply said it is not “fun” to drive.

Former Toro Rosso, now Racing Bulls, team boss Tost says that’s because it has erased one of Verstappen’s main strengths, a strength he says Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso also have – braking late.

“I haven’t seen a single boring race this season,” the Austrian told Krone.

“Sure, there have been a lot of discussions about the new regulations. I can also understand the frustration of the top drivers.

“Drivers like Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, or Fernando Alonso used to be able to exploit their strengths under braking.

“But if you have to lift off the throttle 10 or 20 metres before the braking point to recharge, that advantage is lost.”

On Tuesday, the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council officially ratified changes to the power unit ratios for the 2027 and 2028 seasons.

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The agreement between the FIA and the sport’s power unit manufacturers to switch to a 58-42 split in favour of ICE in 2027 followed by a 60-40 split in 2028 was rubberstamped.

“The development is heading in a very positive direction,” declared Tost.

“There are many overtaking manoeuvres, which are exactly what the spectators want to see, in my opinion. Whether the battery is full or empty is of no concern to most fans.”

Next season, the internal combustion power will increase to around 20kW [25bhp] with the energy recovery system (ERS) reduced by 50kW [67bhp]. Maximum harvesting will increase by 25kW per lap, to reduce super-clipping with the fuel flow rate up to 5 per cent.

In 2028, fuel flow will increase by 13 per cent overall with the ICE up to 450kW overall [600bhp], while maximum harvesting power further increases by another 25kW per lap, with a 60-40 power split being achieved.

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