“You must find a way to push the limits further”: Red Bull senior figure not too keen on FIA’s 2026 F1 regulations 

Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache has claimed that he hasn't been too keen on the new engine regulations to be introduced in 2026. The FIA will implement new engines for that season onward which will see the sport move away from MGU-H and towards 50% battery and 50% MGU-K turbo engines.

While almost every OEM in F1 has already started working on the new engines for 2026, there have been several complaints regarding the new regulations.

Wasche believes that the 2026 regulations restrict creativity. He said (via Soy Motor):

"It's something that happens often in this business. After a few months of work, you start to appreciate it because you have to find a way to push the limits further."

Moreover, Wache has said that he is one of the people who are "negative" about the changes in question (via PlanetF1):

“I’m one of the people saying that it’s quite negative, but I think it’s the nature of the engineering aspect. When you have a very well-defined playfield of where you can do your job, and the system is changing, as an engineer it is part of the challenge aspect."

“It looks very small from our side, the freedom we could have is small at the moment, and that is what we are discussing with the FIA. It looks like they will be able to change it but, at the moment, it looks very low freedom and is not very appealing, as an engineer,” he added.

Notably, Pierre Wache recently noted that the qualities that make Red Bull's three-time world champion Max Verstappen "special" are the reason he believes that he is truly like the 'legends' of other sports. The Dutch driver is at Red Bull at least till 2028.

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Red Bull technical director hails Max Verstappen as a 'legend'

Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache stated in a recent interview with Crash:

“Max Verstappen is like all the legends in each sport. Some people are able to do stuff that nobody else is able to do. I don’t know how or why. But it’s what he is able to do. He's like Roger Federer, like Michael Jordan. These types of people that are able to do stuff nobody else can do."

"His feedback is very interesting, because he operates the car at the limit, how nobody else is using it,” he added.

Despite several challenges in the 2024 season, Max Verstappen is still leading the Drivers' Championship, being 78 points ahead of McLaren driver Lando Norris after 14 races and three sprints thus far in the season. He has been an essential part of Red Bull, retaining their advantage over the rivals in the Constructors' Championship despite not having the outright fastest car this year.