‘Not my goal to make him happy’: Red Bull tech boss reacts to Verstappen’s F1 2026 warning

Pierre Wache says his job at Red Bull is not to make Max Verstappen happy, it’s to give him a race-winning car that would do just that.

Verstappen laid into F1 2026’s new regulations after a marathon first day at the Bahrain circuit where he laid down 136 laps, more than two full race distances, and set the fastest time by half a second.

Red Bull tech boss: Not my goal to make him happy

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

But it was anything but an enjoyable day for the four-time world champion.

Proclaiming that this year’s cars are “not a lot of fun to drive”, Verstappen went on to say that the “feeling is not very F1-like. It feels a bit more like Formula E on steroids.

“I don’t mind that, but, as a pure driver, I enjoy driving flat out, and, at the moment, you cannot drive like that.”

He summed it up as “management”, with energy management key in light of the new power unit’s 50/50 split between electrical and combustion power.

Verstappen went as far as to say the new regulations, which will be in play for several years, could be the deciding factor in whether or not he continues in Formula 1.

“It needs to be fun to drive as well, I think, at this stage of my career,” he said. “I mean, I am, of course, also exploring other things outside of Formula 1 to have fun at.”

His comments were put to Red Bull technical director Wache when he spoke with the media, including PlanetF1.com, during the third day of testing in Bahrain.

The Frenchman insists his job is not to ensure Verstappen is happy, it’s to give him a race-winning car that will make him happy.

“Not my goal to make him happy,” he replied. “It’s making him happy by winning the race.

“My job and the job of the team is to make sure that we give him the tool that he is able to compete at the front.

“The regulation itself and how the car design is in terms of how we feel with the car, due to this regulation, is outside of my narrative. It is an FIA discussion we can have outside of us.

“We can participate, but the main purpose and the main focus is to make the car better.”

More reaction to Max Verstappen’s F1 2026 criticism

Lando Norris fires blunt ‘he can retire’ reaction at Max Verstappen over F1 2026

Hamilton joins Verstappen in criticising F1 2026 regulations

Verstappen admitted during his criticism of the regulations that it was “not always the nicest thing to say”, but “to be honest”, he wasn’t happy with the new regulations.

Asked if perhaps Red Bull’s four-time world champion was too honest, Wache brushed that aside.

“From my perspective, and for the team perspective, is you cannot be too honest,” he insisted.

“You have to say what you feel, what you like, improvement and like every human being, you have to try to understand what it means by saying that.

“I’m sure, on your side, it would be the same – say what he thinks, and after you just have to, as a person, understand why he wants to say that, then it’s because you feel it.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next: Bahrain telemetry suggests Red Bull engine edge after Wolff claim