Max Verstappen Backed to Conquer F1’s Most Complicated Era Yet

Max Verstappen has been hailed as the people's favorite to dominate the track under new regulations and lift the title win.

Max Verstappen Backed to Conquer F1’s Most Complicated Era Yet

Max Verstappen winning the 2025 Italian GP (via Red Bull)

In Short
  • Max Verstappen is favored to succeed under the new complex F1 regulations starting in 2026.
  • Former F1 driver Ricciardo Patrese believes Verstappen is well-suited to adapt to the changes.
  • Ferrari is expected to make a surprising comeback after a poor performance in the 2025 season.

The commencement of the 2026 season is right around the corner as all teams rush into development for the new regulations. The new regulations are believed to be confusing and difficult to anticipate at first, but Mercedes and Red Bull are already leading development. Moreover, Max Verstappen has been backed as the favorite to achieve immense success under the new regulations.

Max Verstappen put forth one of the greatest performances in the history of Formula 1 over the ground-effect era. The Dutchman donned #1 on his challenger throughout the regulations, with Lando Norris only beating him in the final year. Now, with the new regulations seemingly difficult for the teams and drivers, Verstappen remains the people’s favorite to achieve great results.

A former F1 driver, Ricciardo Patrese, is sure of his claims that Max Verstappen would be best suited to adapt to the new regulations. Patrese revealed how the Dutchman would be feeling right at home following the simulator testing, getting used to all the buttons. However, Verstappen wouldn’t be the only one capitalizing on the new regulations, as many other drivers were spending time on the simulator as well.

Max Verstappen is for sure best suited to adapt to the new regulations, He is at home in this environment. He is always in the simulator; he works very well with all the buttons! He is not the only one, though. All the new generation of drivers know how to do this.

Ricciardo Patrese told Bet Victor Casinos.

Ricciardo Patrese believes that there will be many things ongoing in the background between the teams and the drivers. However, the former F1 driver declared that the sport was now doubly more complicated than the previous regulations. Shockingly, Patrese reckons that he didn’t like the complexity of the regulations, as it was impossible to understand for a normal person. Ultimately, the Italian emphasized that Max Verstappen was probably going to be the world champion.

One thing is for sure: if we thought that Formula 1 for a normal person was complicated to understand, now it’s doubly more complicated! I don’t like it all, because sometimes for a normal person it’s impossible to understand what’s going on. Max Verstappen is probably the guy who will be champion.

Ricciardo Patrese added.

Ricciardo Patrese predicts ‘surprise’ from Ferrari

Ferrari will be the team that will be closely looked at as they hope to recover from their desperate performance slump in the 2025 season. The Italian squad did not achieve any race wins over the final season of the ground-effect era. As such, amid Max Verstappen being hailed as the title favorite, Ricciardo Patrese is hoping for a surprise revival in pace from the team.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen (via Getty)
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen (via Getty)

Ricciardo Patrese reckoned that Ferrari could surprise the grid after showing up with dominant results from the get-go. He added that Lewis Hamilton certainly had the motivation to be competitive and provide a tough fight to Charles Leclerc on track. However, current results indicated that Leclerc might just eke out better results than the seven-time champion.

Maybe Ferrari will surprise us! Lewis Hamilton, I think, has the motivation, and he can be very competitive and come back to fight Charles Leclerc in the team. But as it is now, I think Leclerc can show that he can have more speed than Lewis. The fight between the two McLaren drivers will be very interesting, though.

Ricciardo Patrese noted.

Max Verstappen performed well over the 2025 season, defying all odds. The Dutchman can definitely achieve results from any adversity and bounce back on track. For now, Verstappen’s focus lies on starting the season on a high note and keeping building on the positive momentum. Many of the teams and drivers are looking at providing a tough battle to one another.

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