F1 Tripled its Overtakes. Its Biggest Stars Want You to Know That's a Problem
Max Verstappen thinks you’re an idiot for enjoying it.
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The Feature
Melbourne produced 120 overtakes in the 2026 season opener. The same circuit generated 45 the year before. Shanghai delivered similar numbers. Two races in, and the FIA’s new regulations are producing exactly what Liberty Media ordered: more action, more highlight clips, more reasons for a casual fan scrolling Apple TV to stop and watch.
Max Verstappen thinks you’re an idiot for enjoying it.
“Anybody who enjoys this doesn’t understand motor racing,” the four-time world champion said after Round 1. Charles Leclerc called the overtaking “artificial.” Lando Norris pointed to dangerous speed differentials between cars running different power modes on the same straight. George Russell, who won in Australia, has been the loudest defender of the new formula, but Russell winning tends to correlate with Russell approving of the rules, so take that endorsement with appropriate seasoning.
How the Boost Button Works
The 2026 power unit regulations tripled the electrical output of the MGU-K from 120kW to 350kW, creating a near 50/50 split between internal combustion and electrical power. That’s the single biggest shift in F1’s hybrid era. Drivers now manage when to charge and when to deploy through a manual boost button that unlocks the full 350kW from the MGU-K, giving them a burst of speed that tapers off above 290 kph.
The catch: using it drains the battery and leaves the car vulnerable on the next straight. Leclerc described the pattern after Shanghai. You boost, you pass, you become a sitting duck. The other driver boosts past you on the following straight. Then you do it again. The racing looks frantic on camera. In the cockpit, drivers say it feels like managing a video game power-up cycle rather than actually racing.
