"That's not what Formula 1 should be about," says four-time world champion, as he describes contemporary F1 as "anti-racing".

Having scored his best result of the year, and enjoyed a scrap with his former nemesis, one would have thought that Max Verstappen would be grinning from ear to ear. Think again.

The Dutchman remains concerned by the regulations for 2027, and following his claim on Saturday that, under the proposed regulations, F1 was not "not mentally doable", in post-race interviews he doubled down.

Asked post-race about the proposed 60/40 split, he told Sky: "That's the minimum.

"The thing is, I know how pure other motorsports can feel like, you know?" he continued, having raced at the Nurburgring just seven days earlier. "So then when you come back to this, it's just, not very nice.

"I don't want to be too negative now after a race like this," he added, "but I know what it feels like to drive pure racing cars and pure overtakes, pure racing and just natural driving.

"This is all a bit like... very anti-driving, anti-racing, and that's not what Formula 1 should be about. So I really hope that next year we can get that 60/40 because that will naturally help everything a bit."

Even the battle with Hamilton did little to temper his feelings.

"I've been racing different kind of cars," he said in the post-race press conference, "and especially last week, that reminds me how pure motorsport can be and how great the racing can be.

"So, yeah, when I come back into Formula 1, the thing is of course here, especially most of the drivers, we're the best in the world. So even if you would give us a rental car, we'll give you a good show and we'll race each other very hard and well. So it has nothing to do in that sense with the rules.

"For me, while driving, it's all a bit confusing," he said of the current rules. "It's not what Formula 1 should be about. It's way too complex, all of this. Most of the rules, the fans don't even know what we are dealing with while driving, what is allowed when you're behind or when you're the car ahead, what we have to do on a formation lap or what we have to do in an out-lap, or how much battery that we're allowed to charge.

"All these things are just such a shame that we have to deal with all these things. For me F1 just needs to be more pure and I really hope that what they try to do next year will go through because I think that is necessary, the minimum necessary, to make it a bit more natural and a bit more back to normal, or at least a bit more pure racing.

"But like I said, as drivers, give us any kind of car, we'll always race and give a good entertainment or a good show. Doesn't matter, people say, 'Oh, but look now, the show is great, the cars were fighting', but it has nothing to do with the car. It just needs to be more pure."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by RP, 7 hours ago

"We've all heard the saying that "a camel is a horse designed by committee." Well, comparing F1 today to years gone by, we can see the conversion to the camel. In the past, if a engine manufacturer had some design problems (e.g Honda) they didn't have to lug the same engine to each race for the season, development work continued apace. Same for the chassis. And, diversity, it was all very interesting. The drivers hopped in and drove like h**l the whole race. Now you have Domenicali saying F1 has no problems. Drivers should shut up and drive. Only the most sophisticated fans have technical complaints. The effort is to make all engines the same. Limiting development. The money in F1 is up what, 53% in the first quarter. I can't blame a driver, and many have spoken out, if they want to go somewhere else and race instead of driving around in a rolling video game. Those resonsible should keep quiet about the fans and drivers who recognize a camel when they see one."

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2. Posted by BillH, 8 hours ago

"@Chester, the Indy 500 was interesting from start to finish and had such a dramatic finish with none of this cars slowing down nonsense as seen on the straight leading to the pits at Canada.
As for Mr Verstappen's comments, we all know that rental cars are the fastest cars in the world (particularly on the way back from the ski field in Central Otago Lakes District in New Zealand) so it would be great to watch the current drivers hammering rental cars around say Monaco."

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3. Posted by Burton, 10 hours ago

"Well said, Mr. V."

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4. Posted by Chester, 12 hours ago

"Fully agree. Watched the Indy 500 yesterday, and while I shuddered at the beginning thinking it would last all day, I loved it.
My wife and I watched Montreal delayed, and she remarked "what will happen next?" in not a good way.

I am left befuddled with the racing. There is unexpected action, but it is NOT akin to a lost fumble in American football as the runner nears the goal line (a true turn of events driven by athletes trying their best). Rather it appears happenstance and luck (for lack of a better word).

For entertaining a toddler, it is certainly a major success. Lots of action. "

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5. Posted by kenji, 14 hours ago

"Ten out of ten. Max has the correct outlook and the 'cachet' to give his statements impetus. I do certainly hope that he gets unqualified support from his contemporaries. He rightly calls out the complexity of these cars and no doubt wishes for a return to 'real racing' with 'real engines'. That would be most welcome. "

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Verstappen continues to criticise regulations

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