Verstappen rejects Sainz's request for discussions on regulations.

      "We're somewhat late to the discussion regarding this."

      Max Verstappen has responded to GPDA director Carlos Sainz's proposition that the leadership of Formula 1 should be consulted if the regulations for 2026 negatively impact the sport. Sainz mentioned he would be "the first to go and talk to Stefano Domenicali" if the new rules cause any issues. However, Verstappen, who has been a prominent critic of the 2026 proposal—recently referring to it as "Formula E on steroids"—believes that it's already too late for such discussions.

      "We're somewhat late to the discussion regarding this," Verstappen remarked in Melbourne. "A tremendous amount of money has already been put into these regulations. This could have been anticipated much earlier."

      One suggested solution is to restrict the electrical power output to distribute energy usage more evenly across a lap, but Verstappen remains doubtful. "You can certainly lower the power," he stated. "But then the cars will also be slower. That’s why it’s challenging to determine what the optimal solution would be."

      On the first day’s performance rankings, Ferrari led the way with a one-two finish in the first practice session, while Verstappen was the second fastest with the new Red Bull-Ford. He was careful not to draw too many conclusions from it. "Of course, considering our performance, we would like to be slightly faster, and everyone always wants to improve, but based on what we learned from Bahrain, we weren’t the fastest," he explained. "But hey, I have no idea. We’ll need to wait and see where we stand here."

      George Russell, who is widely seen as a title contender this season, doubts that Red Bull has revealed their pace. "I found it strange how slow Red Bull appeared in the second week of testing," the Mercedes driver said. "They were undoubtedly the quickest in the first week, and according to our data from the second test, they were seven tenths of a second slower than their own performance. It’s hard to comprehend how they could lose that much time in just one week."

      Verstappen, known for his cool demeanor towards Russell, remained unfazed. "I don’t really consider those things," he said. "I just concentrate on what we do here, and I’m not overly concerned about what other teams are doing or what others say."

      McLaren’s Oscar Piastri provided his perspective on the performance hierarchy. "From testing, it seems like Mercedes and Ferrari have a slight edge over us and Red Bull, I would say."

      Charles Leclerc, who topped FP1 with Hamilton in second place, was asked about his Ferrari teammate's noticeably improved attitude after a challenging 2025 season. "Do I notice Lewis in a different mood? No. He seems to be just extremely excited. He was very enthusiastic last year about joining the team, and now he’s incredibly excited about these new cars, as am I."

      Leclerc also shared his own view on the standings. "At this point, it’s hard to make predictions, but I believe Mercedes is slightly ahead, and we are a bit behind compared to McLaren and Red Bull. We’ll quickly find out where we stand at the start of this weekend."

      This will also be Verstappen's first race weekend without his long-time mentor Dr. Helmut Marko, who retired at the end of last season. "We’ve had many moments together, so it definitely feels different in the garage," Verstappen said with a smile. "There are fewer Austrian jokes now. But I’m still in contact with him—not so much about the car, but just about life in general."