Max Verstappen is considering his Formula One future following a difficult start to the 2026 Formula One season, questioning whether F1 is “really worth it.”

Verstappen’s reasoning is not down to Red Bull’s struggles, with the four-time World Champion having failed to finish on the podium in F1’s new engine era.

The 28-year-old Dutchman has been a vocal critic of the engine regulations which have often led to drivers driving slower in the corners to save the battery for more electrical power, and drivers have often lost over 30mph at the end of straights as the battery runs out and the engine charges the battery.

Verstappen said speaking to British media: “I’m not enjoying Formula 1 as a whole. That’s what I’m saying. I’m thinking about everything within this paddock.

“Of course I try to adapt to it, but it’s not nice the way you have to race. It’s really anti-driving. Then at one point, yeah, it’s just not what I want to do. “And of course you can look at it and make a lot of money. Great. But at the end of the day it’s not about money any more because this has always been my passion.”

Verstappen won four world championships in a row with Red Bull in a turbo-hybrid era with less aggressive battery saving, but point to a lack of joy from the new way of racing.

“Of course I do enjoy certain aspects. I enjoy working with my team. It’s like a second family. But once I sit in the car it’s not the most enjoyable unfortunately. “I’m trying. I keep telling myself every day to try and enjoy it. It’s just very hard.”

“I see it like this: You hear it from a lot of sports people when you speak to them about how are you successful. It all starts with actually enjoying what you’re doing before you can actually commit to it 100%. “Now I think I’m committing 100% and I’m still trying, but the way that I am telling myself to give it 100% I think is not very healthy at the moment because I am not enjoying what I’m doing.”

Verstappen has long had an interest in GT3 racing and competed in a 4 hour race at the Nurburgring Nordschleiffe last weekend in the NLS2 championship alongside Dani Juncadella and Jules Gounon to try to qualify for the Nurburgring 24 Hour race in May, and while they were disqualified from the win last weekend Verstappen will try to race at the Nordschleiffe again in the break between the Japanese Grand Prix and Miami Grand Prix in May.

He hinted at racing in GT3s full time should he decide to leave Formula One.

“I have a lot of other projects anyway that I have a lot of passion about. The GT3 racing. Not only racing it myself but also the team. It’s really nice and fun to build that. And I really want to build that out further in the coming years.”

“It’s not like if I would stop here that I’m not going to do anything. I’m always going to have fun. And also I will have fun in a lot of other things in my life.”

SUZUKA, JAPAN – MARCH 29: Eighth placed Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing is interviewed during the F1 Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka Circuit on March 29, 2026 in Suzuka, Japan. (Photo by Simon Galloway/LAT Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202603290598 // Usage for editorial use only //

Formula One in 2026 has been dominated by the Mercedes duo of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.

Ollie Bearman’s excellent start to the season has also generated plenty of admiring looks his way.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly is currently eighth in the Drivers’ Championship after scoring points in all three Grands Prix this season, and along with Bearman has been the clear early leader of Formula One’s midfield.

That represents real progress for what was F1’s worst team last season and Gasly has scored all but one of the team’s points, with Franco Colapinto’s tenth place in China the Argentine’s sole contribution to the cause so far.

Painful Decisions Pay Off

Alpine’s start to the season has two key factors behind it, as the Renault owned team voluntarily gave up their works team status to become a Mercedes customer for 2026, making that decision late in 2024 in a decision driven by the returning Flavio Briatore.

While that left them having to fit their car design around someone else’s engine, Mercedes even a year out from the start of the season were thought to be the strongest engine manufacturer for the new for ’26 Power Unit Regulations.

That has proven true, and the team have gone from having the worst Power Unit for much of the last decade to the best.

The other factor is a more painful decision made at the start of last season, when the team made the decision to stop development of their already weak 2025 car early, a decision at the time that left Alpine optimistic.

The only major development was an upgrade brought to the Spanish Grand Prix in June.

Gasly scored all the team’s points in 2025 but scored just two of his 22 points in the second half of the season to finish 18^th in the standings, but his work behind the scenes in rallying the team was important for morale ahead of a 2026 in which the team were targeting heading up the midfield.

2026 so far

After a strong winter testing programme that left observers putting Alpine towards the top of the midfield and the third strongest Mercedes team ahead of Williams, hopes in the team were high going into the Australian Grand Prix.

Gasly once again asserted himself as the team’s leader and despite a tougher than expected weekend in Melbourne, delivered a point for tenth position following a battle with arch-rival Esteban Ocon.

The team was in much better form in China, with Gasly an impressive seventh in Sprint Qualifying before strategy in the Sprint Race dropped him to tenth and the Frenchman failed to score.

He was similarly impressive after the Sprint to outqualify the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in seventh, while a delay in the pits during the Chinese Grand Prix in the Safety Car period and brief troubles at the restart prevented him taking fifth from Bearman, and he ended up sixth.

While Colapinto was on for good points himself before being clattered by Ocon’s Haas, the Argentine managed tenth place in the race to break his own duck with the team, even if he remained a step behind the impressive Frenchman.

Gasly would repeat that qualifying performance in Japan at Suzuka with another fine seventh place, and he would again hold off Verstappen – this time a race long scrap for seventh place as the best of the rest behind the top three teams Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren.

This leaves Gasly on 17 points, only two fewer than the first 13 races of last season but more impressive is that he has not left anything on the table.

Alpine were on their back foot in Melbourne where he salvaged that point having started 14^th, while he maximised his result in Japan and missing out on fifth in China was not due to the driver.

He has an average qualifying advantage over Colapinto of 0.699s from the first four sessions of 2026 after last season’s dominance over the Argentine and has taken on the mantle of team leader having unseated Ocon in 2024.

A contract extension until the end of 2028 is a vote of confidence from both parties, and in the signings of experienced F1 operator Steve Nielsen as Team Principal and David Sanchez as Technical Director following stints with Ferrari and McLaren, the team finally look to have settled down behind the scenes following several seasons of chaos.

Should Alpine continue to deliver on their promise for 2026 and beyond, this partnership may finally bear fruit.

Image: Pirelli F1 Media

Kimi Antonelli took advantage of a well-timed Safety Car to win his second successive Grand Prix at Suzuka.

The Italian had earlier dropped to 6^th at the start following a poor getaway, but Ollie Bearman’s crash on lap 21 after his rivals had pitted opened the door for the teenager, and he didn’t look back.

At 19 years and 216 days he is now the youngest man to ever lead a Formula One World Drivers’ Championship, leading Mercedes teammate George Russell by 9 points after three events.

Oscar Piastri was an excellent second for McLaren after his first race start of the season saw him rise to first, and the Australian might feel that he could have won the race had he not pitted before that Safety Car.

Charles Leclerc was brilliant in third place having had to fight from fifth, while Russell was a frustrated fourth having been second at one stage as he once again was left to bemoan his luck in 2026.

Lando Norris was fifth as McLaren put together their most positive weekend of the season ahead of an underpowered Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari, while Pierre Gasly held off Max Verstappen’s Red Bull for seventh.

The top ten was completed by Liam Lawson’s RB, while Esteban Ocon scored his first point of the season with tenth place for Haas.

Antonelli lost those five places from pole position at the start due to wheelspin as Piastri leapt into the lead form fourth, with Leclerc up to second and Norris third and Russell fourth..

Antonelli repassed Hamilton on the start straight into Turn One on Lap 2, while Russell was back past Norris the following lap, and Charles Leclerc was deposed from second on lap number 4 as the Mercedes drivers launched their comeback. At this stage, Russell was looking the stronger.

The King’s Lynn native would briefly lead on lap 8 as he launched a move into the final chicane, but Piastri was having none of it and would immediately repass the Brit on the following start straight in the pass/repass racing that has become a factor in 2026.

Antonelli would take ten laps to pass Norris with a late braking manoeuvre into the final chicane for fourth. He passed and was repassed by Leclerc at the end of lap 15 before Leclerc pitted at the end of Lap 17 to free the Italian.

Piastri would stop for the one and only time on lap 18 having pulled a gap of two seconds over Russell, with Russell pitting on lap 21.

The race was turned on its head after a crash for Ollie Bearman in the Haas on lap 22 at Spoon brought out the Safety Car. Bearman was able to limp away from his wrecked Haas. Bearman was caught out by huge closing speed between himself and Franco Colapinto, taking to the grass to avoid hitting the Alpine – the 20-year-old suffering a contusion to his right leg.

Antonelli had not stopped, and emerged from the pits in the lead ahead of Piastri and Russell, while Hamilton jumped to fourth in front of Leclerc and Norris.

The race settled down at the front as Ocon, pointless prior to the start of race, got back into the points after the Safety Car period dropped him to 11^th with a well executed move past Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi.

Russell inexplicably lost power on lap 37 to lose out to Leclerc into Spoon and drop to fifth as his race went from bad to worse.

Ferrari waited to put on their show this week, as Leclerc attacked on lap 41 to be held back by Hamilton before a move that start at the chicane resulted in the Monegasque sweeping around the outside into Turn One with a beautiful move for third.

That would cost Hamilton a lap later, as he ran out of battery the net lap to lose out to Russell well before Turn One entry on lap 43.

The battle for the podium hotted up in the last three laps, as Russell passed Leclerc into the final chicane and looked to have made it stick, before an excellent repass around the outside of Turn One to leave Russell running wide, while Norris eventually made a move for fifth stick on Hamilton a lap later.

Further back it was a disappointing race for Audi as top ten start for Bortoleto was wasted by a poor start – the Brazilian was briefly back in the points courtesy of a cheap Safety Car pitstop, before losing out once more, with Nico Hulkenberg 11th for the second successive Grand Prix. Arvid Lindblad struggled all race with tyres as a top ten start yielded only 14th, while Aston Martin were able to finish a race with Fernando Alonso in 19th.

Image: Pirelli F1 media

Kimi Antonelli saw off the challenge of his Mercedes teammate George Russell to take his second successive Formula One pole position at the Suzuka International Raceway.

The result is the 50^th pole position in Formula One for an Italian driver, who had a much cleaner session than teammate Russell, who was battling balance issues throughout the session.

Three tenths of a second split the top two, while Oscar Piastri took third position in his McLaren as he hopes to finally complete a Grand Prix lap in 2026 following dramas in both Grands Prix this season.

The fast-starting Ferrari of Charles Lerclerc goes from fourth ahead of the second McLaren of Lando Norris, while Lewis Hamilton starts tomorrow’s race from sixth.

Isack Hadjar was eighth in the sole Red Bull to get through the third qualifying session, starting behind French compatriot Pierre Gasly’s Alpine, while Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi and Arvid Lindblad’s RB complete the top ten.

The first qualifying session provided only one shock as Ollie Bearman, one of the form drivers so far in 2026, was a surprise elimination in 18^th for Haas to miss out on Q2 by a tenth of a second.

He shares the ninth row with the Williams of Alex Albon, while a more familiar tale was told on the back two rows of the grid as Sergio Perez led an all-Cadillac row 10 in 19^th ahead of Valterri Bottas.

Fernando Alonso bested Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll to start 21^st, almost two seconds off of last man in Franco Colapinto, as their Honda Power Unit issues were laid bare at the manufacturer’s home race.

The second qualifying session provided a bigger shock as Max Verstappen, who had won from pole at Suzuka for four seasons in a row since 2022, was the big casualty in his Red Bull.

He was knocked out by Lindblad on his first visit to the circuit, with Esteban Ocon out in 12^th ahead of the Audi of Nico Hulkenberg.

Liam Lawson could only produce a lap quick enough for 14^th as Franco Colapinto in the Alpine and Carlos Sainz’s Williams completed the eliminations.

In the third session, Antonelli set what would turn out to be the pole position time first time out with a 1:28.778, and in truth it never looked like that would be toppled as a session beset by oversteer in the final sector limited British driver Russell’s threat – the King’s Lynn native later said that he was “lucky to be second this weekend” following a second successive difficult qualifying session.

Charles Leclerc was the last man to challenge but a snap of oversteer at the Spoon corner cost the Monegasque driver time and speed in the final sector, with the Ferrari team hoping their famed race starts will pull him back into contention.

Ranking the 2025 grid is not an exact science, as there are a myriad of factors behind any driver’s performance across a season.

Still, eight members of the Pit Crew Online have tried to do just that with each member placing emphasis on different factors.

These rankings are taken from a mean average of where those eight members have ranked every driver, with lowest average to highest average.

So, with that introduction done, let’s start with the lowest ranked driver.

21: Jack Doohan
It feels harsh to judge Doohan on the basis of six races, but Doohan was on a hiding to nothing given his position was subject to rumour even before the season started. Some high profile crashes in Australia, Japan and Miami made the probable inevitable, but the Australian did have some highs and deserved points in Bahrain but for a safety car. Needs to leave the Alpine stable.

20: Franco Colapinto
Colapinto arrived at Alpine with a big fee and a big reputation, but got off to a horrible start after a needless crash in qualifying at Imola. For a while, he was nowhere and not helped by rookie errors such as switching the car off in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix. He will benefit from stability going into 2026.

19: Yuki Tsunoda
A strong start at Racing Bulls ultimately proved his undoing as he became the latest victim of Red Bull’s second seat. A solid start to his Red Bull career at the Japanese Grand Prix foreshadowed what was to be the root of most of his problems, as his lack of qualifying pace in an albeit tricky car meant he was always out of position. Another to crash in qualifying at Imola, his spectacular accident spooked Red Bull and meant until Laurent Mekies took over from the sacked Christian Horner after the British Grand Prix, he was always a spec behind teammate Max Verstappen. 2025 reputational damage was complete when he dangerously weaved in front of Lando Norris in Abu Dhabi like a poor man’s Sergio Perez. Out of F1 for 2026.

18: Lance Stroll
It is abundantly clear that only family has kept Lance Stroll in Formula One for ten seasons. A fortunate but nevertheless impressive sixth in the season opening Australian Grand Prix soon gave way to a now familiar mix of frustration and a lack of pace. Was the only car lapped in Japan at the third round and thereafter failed to finish above 14^th until an excellent 7^th at the British Grand Prix in July. Save for two more 7^th places in Hungary and the Netherlands, this wasn’t backed up and the Canadian admitted to being lost compared to teammate Fernando Alonso.

17: Liam Lawson
Lawson looked on a one-way ticket out of Formula One after demotion from Red Bull after two races. The New Zealander regrouped at Racing Bulls and after his first top 10 of the season at the Monaco Grand Prix, points were semi regular. In the final 8 races, he outpointed lauded teammate Isack Hadjar with brilliant drives in Baku and Brazil and after three years of upheaval for Lawson within the Red Bull stable, 2026 offers the first year of stability. He showed himself to be the right choice to be incoming rookie Arvid Lindblad’s benchmark next season, but his career at the top of F1 appears over before it’s begun.

16: Esteban Ocon
If this ranking was during the summer break, Ocon would likely have made the top 10. Showed real class in a drive to 5^th in China (albeit assisted by a Ferrari double DSQ) and impressed with 8^th in Bahrain, but was buried by rookie teammate Ollie Bearman in the second half of the season to finish behind the Brit in the standings, and qualified on average 1.2 places behind. As Haas’ base pace improved, Ocon was often lost on setup and the car got often got away from him. His reputation has taken significant damage this season.

15: Lewis Hamilton
If Hamilton had thought a fresh start for 2025 at Ferrari would rejuvenate his form after a sad end to a wonderful Mercedes partnership, he was sorely mistaken. A sprint win in China was as good as it got as the 7-time World Champion was soundly beaten by one of the current best in Charles Leclerc. The Brit was not helped by a Ferrari team who came up with a totally new concept in the final season a rules cycle and failing to understand their car, and it took both team and driver a long time to adjust to one another. His first year off a Grand Prix podium in 19 seasons in the sport says much about how the year went. He cut disconsolate figure at the end of the season, with the final four races seeing him out of Q1 and relying on recovery drives to score in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi. It feels like 2026 could be farewell for a legend of the sport.

14: Gabriel Bortoleto
Save for a comment by former Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko about being a B grade rookie, Bortoleto’s first half of the season went under the radar as an uncompetitive Sauber had him out of the limelight. Sauber got their act together and points followed in Austria, while he outraced none other than Max Verstappen with an excellent sixth in Hungary. He troubled esteemed teammate Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying throughout the season but will be disappointed that a few rookie errors crept in with two needless crashes in Brazil and another in Las Vegas. Part of a strong lineup for 2026 as Sauber becomes Audi.

13: Pierre Gasly
Gasly has proven difficult to rank in what was clearly the worst car. Some excellent drives include a seventh in Bahrain, eighth at the ultimately chaotic Spanish Grand Prix and a brilliant sixth at the wet British Grand Prix. Made Q3 10 times in a car that had absolutely no business being there, but with Alpine moving to customer Mercedes status for 2026 there should be scope for better things for the Frenchman.

12: Nico Hulkenberg
2025 will be remembered as the year the German finally broke his podium duck, with a perfectly judged third place at Silverstone. Outqualified 11 times by rookie teammate Bortoleto, it was his Sunday pace that impressed most in 2025 with nine points finishes and another top five in Spain. A strong end to the season for the German yielded an unexpected 11^th in the standings as he showed himself to be a sensible choice as Audi embark on their first F1 adventure in 2026.

11: Ollie Bearman
Bearman’s potential was highlighted with his parachuted performances for Haas and Ferrari in 2024, and he backed that up in his first full season in F1 at Haas in 2025. Three points finishes in the first four races was a good start, and while rookie errors such as crashing under red flags at Silverstone and needless collisions have him close to a race ban, he can be pleased with his season. As Haas got quicker, so did he and he buried experienced teammate Ocon in the second half of the season, with a brilliant drive to fourth in Mexico threatening a first ever Haas podium the pick of the bunch. Looking like Ferrari’s long-term answer.

10: Alex Albon
While he outscored new teammate Carlos Sainz over 2025, his late season slump was alarming as the Spaniard eventually got the upper hand in the final third of the season and it is that momentum that has counted against him here. However, his excellent form before the summer break shouldn’t be ignored and he was for a long time battling Antonelli for 7^th in the standings. Four top fives in a body of work containing 11 points finishes show that when the top four teams had an off day it was him more than most that picked up the spoils, and if he can regain that form for 2026 then Williams have a formidable driver pairing for F1’s new era.

9: Kimi Antonelli
Antonelli made a consistent start with three top 6 finishes in the first three races including a wonderful fourth on debut that showed his sky-high potential. He went missing in the European season when Mercedes brought in a suspension upgrade they would later drop. There were some rookie errors along the way, such as when he took Verstappen out on lap 1 in Austria and spun predecessor Hamilton in Holland. Showed good mental strength to bounce back in the final third of the season and almost take 6^th overall. Two third places in Canada and Las Vegas were good if fortuitous, but his second place in Sao Paolo was another glimpse of his world class talent. Plenty to improve on but a very high ceiling.

8: Isack Hadjar
Hadjar suffered a nightmare debut in Australia by crashing out on the formation lap and attracting a needless comment from Helmut Marko. To bounce back as he did with strong pace in China and points in Suzuka was impressive, and the Frenchman carried on that improvement throughout the season. There was bad luck and bad RB strategy along the way notably in Qatar and China, while crashing in qualifying in Austin is a mark against him. Hadjar has shown enough about him to suggest he won’t be overawed by being Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate in 2026.

7: Fernando Alonso
That he took until Round 9 in Spain to score his first points was more down to luck than the Spaniard as reliability problems proved costly in China and Monaco, and the Aston Martin wasn’t strong enough to compete. That said, there were costly errors with a crash in Melbourne and a spin in Qatar to drop out of the top 6, but he comprehensively outperformed Stroll again. If Adrian Newey works his magic, 2026 could roll back the years for F1’s oldest driver.

6: Carlos Sainz
It is too simplistic to say that Sainz was poor in the first half and great in the second half of 2025. Sainz was on for points before crashing in Australia, and while he was outperformed early season by Albon there were good races in Saudi Arabia, Imola and Miami while Williams found his technical feedback and mentality invaluable. While he went missing in Spain and Japan and had a needless collision with Antonelli in Austin, Sainz got the upper hand on Albon in the second half of the season culminating in two podiums, on merit, in Baku and Qatar. If Williams master the 2026 regulations, he and Albon will make the most of it.

5: Charles Leclerc
Leclerc was a victim of Ferrari’s strange design path from the start of 2025, and took it to six front row starts that the car didn’t deserve. There were a couple of poor races including another horrible wet British Grand Prix outing but this season was another where the car was the issue and not the driver. 2025 being winless does not reflect how good this season was for the Monegasque as he firmly asserted himself over 7 time Champion Hamilton. He must wonder whether it will ever happen for him at Ferrari.

4: Oscar Piastri
If this was compiled after Monza, Piastri would top the standings. Unfortunately the Australian’s season completely unravelled after a disastrous weekend in Baku, and he revealed later in the season that being asked to swap positions with teammate Norris in Monza affected him. He was never able to wrestle back control of the season and by Mexico he had fallen behind his teammate in the Championship standings. Despite this, there was a lot of good as he dominated Norris in the first 15 races of the season and the run from China through to Holland was peerless as he was off the podium only once in Canada during that run. He will need to work on his mentality to become the complete driver in Formula One.

3: George Russell
Russell showed remarkable consistency and did not deserve to have questions over his future throughout most of 2025. Asserted himself over hotshot teammate Kimi Antonelli after beating Hamilton in two of three seasons at Mercedes. Two wins in Canada and Singapore were brilliant and his worse weekends were mostly car induced, with only the borderline farcical Monaco Grand Prix and a Sao Paolo Grand Prix in which he was outpaced by Antonelli really count against him. Has proven himself the complete driver in 2025.

2: Lando Norris
Norris threatened to blow a golden opportunity at the title with a lacklustre and error strewn first half of the season, with an unnecessary collision with Piastri in Canada the nadir of that spell. Victory at the Austrian Grand Prix kickstarted the Brit’s season and he came to form at the right time of the season to knock the stuffing out of teammate Piastri. Norris proved a lot of people wrong by showing enormous mental fortitude to come back and close out his first World Drivers’ Championship. A worthy champion.

1: Max Verstappen
This season eclipsed Fernando Alonso’s 2012 for the best forlorn World Championship challenge. That Verstappen only made two notable mistakes with the red mist on George Russell in Spain and the halfspin in Silverstone when a dry set up proved too hot to handle in the wet. Apart from those, and a horrible weekend in Hungary, the Dutchman extracted the maximum from his car. His ability to rally the team over a weekend and improve performance on such a consistent basis, and his mentality in chasing at the end of the season means no one can argue when he says that 2025 was the best performance of his career. The biggest asset on the current grid.

Image credits: f1pressarea.pirelli.com