The 2026 Formula 1 regulations were supposed to usher in a new era of sustainable, hyper-efficient racing, with a massive 50/50 power split between the internal combustion engine and the electrical battery. But if you ask the grid’s most ruthless competitor, the championsip is heading in the exact wrong direction.
During a highly anticipated appearance on the P1 with Matt & Tommy podcast, Max Verstappen was asked a simple question: if he could change one rule in Formula 1, what would it be?
Without skipping a beat, the four-time World Champion delivered an answer that will have motorsport purists cheering worldwide: ditch the heavy, complicated V6 turbo hybrids and bring back the naturally aspirated V8s.
Verstappen: “It fixes so many things”
Formula 1 hasn’t heard the deafening roar of a V8 engine since the end of the 2013 season, right before the controversial hybrid era began. Since then, the cars have become incredibly heavy and highly reliant on battery management.
When asked about his ultimate rule change, Verstappen immediately targeted the power unit.
“Right now, change the engine back to a V8,” Verstappen stated bluntly.
For Verstappen, the return to V8s isn’t just about nostalgia for louder cars; it is a fundamental fix for the current generation’s weight and drivability issues.
“It fixes so many things,” he explained. “A proper V8 is much better for, in every single scenario, you know, so drivability; it’s lighter, much more fun to race with.”
Killing DRS for “push to pass”
Perhaps the most sensational part of Verstappen’s V8 fantasy is his solution for modern overtaking. Since 2011, Formula 1 has relied on the Drag Reduction System – a rear-wing flap that reduces drag—to manufacture overtakes on the straights.
Verstappen believes a lighter V8 car, paired with a small, IndyCar-style electrical boost, could finally kill DRS forever.
“And if you need like a tiny battery for like a push to pass, so we also don’t need the DRS anymore, that’s fine,” Verstappen suggested.
He explained that a manual “push to pass” system gives the driver control to make brave moves under braking, rather than just effortlessly cruising past a rival halfway down a straight because a flap opened.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images
“That is powerful enough to generate an overtake, but at the end of the straight that you need to go for a move,” he noted, adding that sometimes DRS is “way too powerful in places.”
While F1 is targeting a return to V8 powertrains from 2030, Verstappen’s ideal setup is still delightfully old-school.
“In my ideal world, V8, V10, but I guess it will be more V8 nowadays; that will be great. A lot more fun to drive,” Verstappen concluded. “And then if you add like, a little battery for like a push to pass kind of thing, then I think it’s fine.”
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