Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says four-time world champion Max Verstappen is facing a “horror show” start to the eason, struggling with the Red Bull RB22.
Mercedes has emerged as the team to beat in the opening weeks of F1 2026, winning the first two races of the season in Australia and China.
George Russell took victory at the opening round in Melbourne earlier this month before teammate Kimi Antonelli secured his maiden F1 win in Shanghai last weekend.
After seeing his reign as world champion ended by McLaren’s Lando Norris last season, Verstappen has had a troubled start to the new season with Red Bull.
The four-time title winner failed to record a time in qualifying in Australia after an accident on his first lap of Q1, recovering from the rear of the field to sixth on race day.
Verstappen then qualified a full second behind Antonelli’s Mercedes in China before an ERS cooling problem the following day saw him register his first retirement since last year’s Austrian Grand Prix.
The 28-year-old has been a fierce critic of the new rules introduced for this season, reiterating his view that the regulations are “fundamentally flawed” in Shanghai.
Mercedes was heavily linked with a move for Verstappen last year before the team opted to retain Russell and Antonelli for the F1 2026 campaign.
And Wolff has claimed that Verstappen’s complaints about the new rules are “car specific” and related to Red Bull’s current issues, pointing out that the RB22 looks “just horrendous to drive.”
He told media after Sunday’s race in Shanghai: “Max is really in a horror show.
“When you look at the onboard that he has in qualifying yesterday, it’s just horrendous to drive.
“You can see that, but it’s not the same with many other teams.
“I think, from an entertainment perspective, I believe that what we’ve seen today between Ferrari and Mercedes was good racing. Many overtakes.
“We were all part of Formula 1 where there was no overtaking and we tried.
“Sometimes we are too nostalgic about the good old years, but I think the product is good in itself.
“We saw some racing in the midfield also and that is, I think, the positive.
“Now, from a driver’s standpoint, when it comes to the balls-out qualifying lap, that is different.
“Clearly, lifting and coast in qualifying I’m sure, for someone like Max who’s a full-attack guy, it’s difficult to cope and digest.
“But it’s more, I would say, a car-specific issue that magnifies the problem that it is.
“Because if you sit in front of the TV or in front of the screen, even Max would say that was interesting racing at the front.”
Wolff’s comments come after Verstappen claimed that fans enjoying the new rules simply “don’t understand racing.”
The Red Bull driver went on to warn the sport’s authorities against ignoring the complaints among drivers over the 2026 regulations.
On whether the concerns about the 2026 rules could be dismissed if F1’s viewing figures remain high, he said: “I hope they don’t think like that, because it will eventually ruin the sport. It will come and bite them back in the a**.
“But for me, as long as we can just communicate with them and make sure that we are working on some solutions, that will help a lot.
“But it’s also going to be very difficult with everyone to agree. Not everyone needs to agree, but most of the people have to agree to make changes.
“But like I said, it’s political. Some people feel they have the advantage now and they want to, of course, use that. Rightly so. I get that.
“But at the same time, if you look at it for the sport, it’s just not good.”
Despite a move to the Mercedes F1 team failing to come to fruition in 2025, it was announced late last year that the Verstappen Racing sportscar team had entered a multi-year partnership with Mercedes-AMG Motorsport from this season.
This will see Verstappen compete behind the wheel of a Red Bull-branded Mercedes-AMG GT3 car at the Nurburgring 24 hours in May.
Verstappen’s decision to compete in the endurance classic was announced 24 hours after the Australian Grand Prix.
