<figure id="attachment_3258737" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3258737" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-3258737 size-full" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/5d2f3e90-verstappen-red-bull-afp-16_01_26.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3258737" class="wp-caption-text">Isack Hadjar (left), Max Verstappen (centre), and team principal Laurent Mekies unveiled the Oracle Red Bull Racing’s 2026 livery at Michigan Central Station on Jan 15, 2026. (Getty Images via AFP)</figcaption></figure>
PARIS: Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali has assured fans that the sport&#8217;s new engine era will still provide plenty of thrills and Max Verstappen is in no danger of walking away.
Four times world champion Verstappen has been outspoken about the new cars not being fun to drive and producing a situation that is &#8220;like Formula E on steroids&#8221; and &#8220;anti-racing&#8221;.
The Red Bull driver has said before that he will stop racing if he no longer enjoys it but Domenicali said there was no risk of that.
&#8220;I have a very good relationship with Max,&#8221; the Italian told reporters on a video call when asked what made him so confident.
&#8220;I know him very well. I spend a lot of time with him. That&#8217;s the reason. Full stop. He loves Formula One. There&#8217;s no doubt about it.&#8221;
Domenicali said he met Verstappen during testing in Bahrain on Wednesday and it had been a very constructive talk.
&#8220;I guarantee you that Max wants and cares about Formula One more than anyone else,&#8221; he said. &#8220;He has a way of putting the point that he wants to say in a certain way.
&#8220;We&#8217;ll have a very constructive meeting also with the federation (FIA) to highlight what are his points of view of what he believes needs to be done to keep the driving style at the centre without changing the approach.&#8221;
Much of the pre-season has been dominated by debate about the new cars, how they might perform and what the racing will be like with the balance between electric and combustion engine now 50-50.
That will mean drivers have to be tactical with energy deployment and regeneration, with the old drag reduction system replaced by a new overtake mode giving extra power for overtaking.
Describing it as a &#8220;new way of driving, a new way of interpreting the sport&#8221;, Domenicali said the fastest would still win.
&#8220;The cars are really beautiful, the sound is very nice,&#8221; he said during testing in Bahrain. &#8220;And if you go around the track here, it seems that there is the car like it was last year.
&#8220;In terms of speed, I&#8217;m pretty sure that the development that I can already see happening will make this car very, very fast at the end of the season already.
&#8220;I am totally positive to say that there will be another incredible year.&#8221;
Domenicali confirmed that Turkey&#8217;s Istanbul Park circuit was close to a return to the calendar, likely as early as next year in rotation with a race on the existing calendar, but that the number of rounds would still be capped at 24.
The 2026 season will feature one new race in Madrid in September.

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