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Max Verstappen Calls New F1 Cars 'No Fun' as Leclerc Leads Day 2 of Bahrain Test
Verstappen said the 2026 F1 cars’ smaller size and battery strategy make them less enjoyable, comparing them to Formula E, while Leclerc topped Bahrain testing with strong performance.
- On Thursday at Bahrain testing, Max Verstappen, four-time champion, said `It's actually no fun at all to drive` and `it isn't the original Formula 1 feeling any more`, while Charles Leclerc went fastest by half a second from Lando Norris.
- Regulation changes for 2026 made cars smaller and lighter and introduced an on-board battery charging strategy, with Verstappen calling it `a bit like Formula E on steroids` in a Sky Sport German-language interview.
- McLaren's Lando Norris logged nearly 149 laps on Thursday, while Mercedes faced issues with Kimi Antonelli completing just three laps and Red Bull's Isack Hadjar waited for a fix, and Oliver Bearman was third for Haas.
- Verstappen warned energy management will be difficult at Melbourne, and several top drivers including Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton sat out Thursday, altering teams' running plans.
- With three days of testing this week and three next week, the testing schedule limits how teams evaluate changes while on-board battery strategy shapes teams' race strategy and driver experience.
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Motor racing-Verstappen says new F1 car is "not much fun to drive"
MANAMA, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Four-times Formula One world champion Max Verstappen declared his new Red Bull not much fun to drive and more like "Formula E on steroids" on the second day of pre-season testing in Bahrain on Thursday. Read full story
·Malaysia
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The four-time world champion Max Verstappen can hardly win the new Formula 1 cars after the biggest rule reform of the past decades! Driving the cars equipped with a significantly larger electric component makes him "not much fun", explained the Red Bull star on Thursday during the test drives in Bahrain. It feels more like "Formel E on steroids", said the 28-year-old Dutchman – and not very much after the Formula 1. The all-electric Formula E i…
·Vienna, Austria
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources40
Leaning Left9Leaning Right4Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution45% Left
Bias Distribution
- 45% of the sources lean Left
45% Left
L 45%
C 35%
R 20%
Factuality
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