Untelevised team radio from the Australian Grand Prix has revealed Max Verstappen describing the new F1 2026 cars as “super frustrating to drive” during the cooldown lap.
The season opener at Albert Park saw pre-season favourite Mercedes claim a one-two finish, with George Russell and teammate Kimi Antonelli setting the early benchmark in Formula 1’s new era.
How Max Verstappen’s ‘super frustrating’ Australian GP unfolded over team radio.
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Untelevised team radio from the Australian Grand Prix has revealed the extent of Max Verstappen’s frustrations with the new 2026 Red Bull RB22 over the course of the race, culminating in his admission that the car is “super frustrating to drive.”
Verstappen, a four-time world champion, struggled with a range of issues during the weekend, starting with an “almost empty” battery at the race start. Exchanges with his long-time race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, showed the Red Bull driver’s irritation:
Verstappen: “Mate, my battery is almost empty. It just doesn’t charge.”
Lambiase: “Yeah, copy.”
Verstappen: “Ah. The battery, mate. F**k’s sake.”
During the virtual safety car on Lap 12, Verstappen needed guidance on the new 2026 restart procedure:
Verstappen: “When VSC ends, do I have to use the boost button?”
Lambiase: “Ah, yes please. Yeah.”
Tyres were another point of contention. Verstappen repeatedly reported graining and poor performance:
Lap 17: “Tyres are no good, mate. They’re just dying.”
Lap 24: “For me, all the tyres are terrible.”
He also struggled with lack of information from the pit wall, unsure whether to lift fully or not through Turn 5. Attempts to adjust switches or boost patterns repeatedly failed, compounding his frustrations:
Lap 36: “Yeah, the boost pattern is fked.”
Lap 52: “Ah, deployment s*at itself again. Fking hell.”
Despite these challenges, Verstappen recovered from a difficult start to finish sixth. On the cooldown lap, he reflected on the race:
Verstappen: “I did what I could but we just grain way too quick. And also the hard tyre was definitely worse… It’s just super frustrating to drive, but thank you.”
Lambiase: “Frustrating? There’s drivers up front, Max, elated with this whole thing.”
Team principal Laurent Mekies praised Verstappen’s effort, highlighting the recovery from P20 to P6 and encouraging the team to take the lessons forward.
Verstappen admitted he hopes the team can find solutions throughout the 2026 season to make the car “more enjoyable” to drive, as this marked his worst season opener since 2022 in Bahrain.
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