Sergio Perez backs Max Verstappen as he warns F1 2026 is ‘not ideal’

Sergio Perez agrees with Max Verstappen that F1’s new regulations are “not ideal” as energy management takes centre stage ahead of racing.

So much so, he believes the first few races of the season will be “chaotic” as the drivers get to know their power units in racing conditions.

Sergio Perez: “Which is not ideal”

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Months before Formula 1’s new 2026 cars and their power units took to the track, there were concerns that the 50/50 split between electrical and combustion power would lead to cars slowing on the straights to harvest power. Perhaps even forcing them to slow on a hot lap in qualifying.

This appears to be the case with Max Verstappen unhappy that he cannot drive his RB22 “flat-out” as the “the right word is management”.

“The feeling,” he continued, “is not very F1-like. It feels a bit more like Formula E on steroids.”

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The four-time World Champion’s comments were put to his former teammate Perez, who is back on the grid with Cadillac after a year on the sidelines after he parted ways with Red Bull in the 2024 off-season.

“It is very different,” the Mexican driver told media, including PlanetF1.com, in Bahrain. “Definitely this Formula 1 does feel extremely different to what I was used to. I’ll say it’s the biggest change I’ve had in my career in terms of regulations.

“Very difficult to figure it out – what’s going on with the energy, with deployments, all of that is tremendously difficult. So yeah, a lot of this power unit comes into play much more than in the past, which is not ideal.

“I want to see how the racing, because for me the main fun is a is the racing. At the moment, I just don’t know how we racing. It seems like overtaking may be a little bit trickier, managing your energies and etc.

“It might become, I don’t want to jump into conclusions, but they can, can be like Formula E racing. So let’s wait and see.”

But that’s not Perez’s only concern.

The six-time grand prix winner is also worried that the first few races of the season will descend into chaos as the drivers get used to managing the energy from their power units in racing conditions.

“I think it can be chaotic,” he said. “I think especially the first races, getting everyone to get to know their power units, their management when you can use the overtake button, the amount of energy you drain while you’re using it all of that.

“It’s very, very tricky.”

That, though, is a problem for the March 1st when the drivers take to the track for FP1 at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

For now, at least for Cadillac, it is all about building on the progress it made in the opening three days of official testing with only three more days to come.

Perez concedes that even when it comes to Melbourne, where Cadillac is in the running order is “a little bit irrelevant” for F1’s new 11th team. Its only goal is progress week in and week out.

“I think overall it’s going well, it’s going in the right direction,” Perez said.

“The team has done a good job, obviously, getting all the puzzle together. It’s quite not an easy one, I’d say, but we’re making progress, which is the main thing for us as a new team.

“So, yeah, looking forward to hopefully start making even more progress in the coming days, coming weeks.

“I think it’s a little bit irrelevant where we start in Melbourne, it’s how much progress we are able to make in the coming weekends.

“I see mainly it’s been the progress we’ve been able to make understandingly on the engine side, it’s a tremendous change. It has changed a lot. So yeah, a lot of changing out there. A lot of understanding to do as well. So yeah, looking forward to getting on top of all those things.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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