Formula E CEO Personally TEXTED Max Verstappen After His “Formula E on Steroids” Comment

The 2026 F1 regulations have not been met with much enthusiasm from the drivers on the grid. Many drivers have made some concerning remarks regarding the complexity of the regulations. As such, Max Verstappen was no stranger to these comments and had a rather hilarious take. The Dutchman joked that the 2026 regulations felt like the sport was now “Formula E on steroids”.

Much to Max Verstappen‘s surprise, Formula E’s CEO, Jeff Dodds, has hilariously responded to the former. Notably, FE is one of the more interesting motorsports because of the power units being fully electric and making no noise. The all-electric sport recently made headlines following a “pit boost” system that charged the challenger upto five times faster than traditional motorway fast chargers.

Responding to Max Verstappen, Jeff Dodds revealed that he dropped a message to the former, talking about how he was in Bahrain and the next Formula E race was scheduled in Jeddah. Dodds added that he was ready to personally pick up Verstappen from his location so that he could try his hand at FE. The CEO claimed that he wasn’t surprised by the comments from the four-time F1 champ, but rather saw them as a great opportunity to boost his own motorsport.

I dropped Max a message yesterday to basically say, ‘you’re in Bahrain, I’m in Jeddah, if you fancy coming here instead, I’ll come and get you.’ So I was being naughty when I messaged him. I’m not surprised at all [by the comments]. 

Jeff Dodds said, as reported by motorsport.com.

Further, Jeff Dodds pointed out that many team principals made him aware of Max Verstappen’s comments and how it was a great opportunity for Formula E. Many people from the electric sport believe that it is great that Verstappen even referenced the sport, albeit in a derogatory manner. Dodds viewed this opportunity to show people what FE was made of and how racing was even more exciting in the all-electric motorsport.

Many of [the Formula E drivers] and many of the team principals contacted me to say it as a great opportunity for us. A lot of them are saying to me that it’s great that he even references Formula E, because it’s great for awareness. I think it’s a good opportunity for us to show people what we’re made of, and where we’re going. So, if more people from his comments think, oh go and have a look [at Formula E], [that is] great for me.

Jeff Dodds added.

Jeff Dodds reveals that Max Verstappen would ‘love’ Gen4 cars of Formula E

Much like Formula 1, Formula E will introduce new technical regulations in the 2026/27 season. The Gen4 will mean that the cars will be able to produce up to 800bhp, and an all-wheel drive system. As such, these are certainly very different from F1, where the hybrid power unit and active aerodynamics are focused more on this year.

Jeff Dodds asserted that Max Verstappen would love the Gen4 cars because of the 600 Kilowatts of raw power and the all-wheel drive system. Moreover, the lap times in the FE challenger wouldn’t be much different from those of Formula 1. Surprisingly, Dodds highlighted that the new cars were much faster than Formula 1 and GT3 cars, which Verstappen would definitely love.

If Max got in the Gen4 car, I think he’d love it, 600 kilowatts of raw power, permanent all-wheel drive, 70% more power than the current car, lap times that won’t be much different to a Formula 1 car in the new era, instant torque, so instant violence, put your foot down, you’re at 100 kilometres in 1.8 seconds, much faster than his current Formula 1 car, much faster than a GT3 car, I actually think he’d love it. 

Jeff Dodds noted.

Formula E is continuing to gain more viewership and audience worldwide because of the interesting form of racing. Max Verstappen’s comments will definitely cause many more people to gain an interest in FE in the future. As such, it will be interesting to witness Verstappen in the electric sport, if he ever decides to go there for a feature race.

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