Verstappen says F1 rule changes 'a tickle'

Breaking news from the world of sport: Verstappen says F1 rule changes 'a tickle' Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Max Verstappen has previously likened the 2026 version of F1 to the Mario Kart racing game and also said it was "Formula E on steroids" By Andrew Benson F1 Correspondent in Miami Published 13 minutes ago Red Bull's Max Verstappen says the changes to Formula 1's rules amount to "a tickle" in terms of addressing his and other drivers' concerns about the new style of racing. However, championship contender George Russell described the changes as "good" and world champion Lando Norris said the drivers "have to be happy" with what had been done. A series of complex technical tweaks have been made with two main aims - to return qualifying to a more flat-out challenge for the drivers, and to reduce closing speeds during racing.

Verstappen, who has said the new cars have made him question his future in the sport, said: "It's a tickle. It's not what we need yet to really make it flat out. Like I said, it's complicated to get everything to agree.

Match Details

I just hope that next year we can make really big, big changes. " How to follow Miami Grand Prix on the Published 7 hours ago Will rule changes make noticeable difference in Miami? F1 Q&A Published 2 days ago McLaren's Norris added: "It's tough to go that much further.

There's only so much you can do with the rules that you have to keep things within. We would all have liked more in the direction that they've gone. "The race really isn't going to be that different.

So some things are not going to change that much, and the qualifying should be a bit more flat-out qualifying-style laps, which is a nice thing. It's what we want the drivers, so I think we have to be happy with the amount of changes that they've done. " The new engines have a near 50-50 split between internal combustion and electrical power, and require significant energy management.

Reactions and Expectations

The changes have been targeted at reducing what have been described as "counter-intuitive" driving techniques, such as lifting off and coasting before corners in qualifying to charge the battery. The other key focus was reducing the likelihood of speed differentials caused when one car is deploying all its 350kW (470bhp) of electrical power and another is deploying none because it is charging its battery. Norris said: "We've done a good job in trying to improve things.

The bigger things and the things we want more in the future are the things I'm going to take more time on. " Norris was referring to the belief expressed by both his team principal Andrea Stella and Red Bull counterpart Laurent Mekies that hardware changes to the engine are needed to reduce the need for energy management further. Specifically, that means changing the ratio between internal combustion and electrical power by increasing the power of the engine, probably by increasing the permitted fuel flow.

The story has climbed to the top of the sports agenda, with fans and analysts following closely.