After Max Verstappen Warns About $18,320,000 Equipment Change, Zak Brown and James Vowles Step in to Clear His Fears

Zak Brown and James Vowles have recently opened up to contradict Max Verstappen’s objections towards the upcoming engine regulations. According to F1’s rule, the engine that costs $18,320,000 would be reformed in 2026 for the first time since 2014.

Verstappen seems to be unpleased with the new rules, as he believes the new engine regulations will give the teams with mightier engines an extra advantage.

Verstappen claims that the data he has seen in the factory gives a terrible feeling to him about regulations. However, Brown and Vowles have tried to debunk his claim.

Brown and Vowles cleared Verstappen’s fear of engine regulations

Brown and Vowles, the respective team principals of McLaren and Williams, revealed their stark opposition to the Red Bull driver’s comments. They think that the aerodynamics and chassis design would still hold a huge influence in the competition.

Brown told Motorsport.com, “It’s always a combination of driver, chassis, and power unit to create a competitive car. I don’t think that will change, whether it’s this regulation, the next regulation, or the regulation after that.”

On the other hand, Vowles added, “It would be wrong to say that the chassis will no longer have a major impact.” As per F1 Maximum, the Williams boss added, “I still think in today’s rough regulations, there is a lot of potential to outperform or underperform your competitors.”

But at the same time, Red Bull boss Christian Horner came up to give more ground to the argument. Horner believes that the upcoming regulations will see drivers will downshift to regenerate batteries.

Christian Horner is lobbying for a change and echoed the same as Max Verstappen

Horner has not only shown concern about the new changes to the engine since 2026 but also lobbied for a reduction in the electrical power of the said engine rules.

According to the Briton, teams with less electrical dependency on the current hybrid engines have faced problems. As happened with the DNF of Lewis Hamilton in Canada in 2014 and Nico Rosberg losing the lead against Daniel Ricciardo in the penultimate lap due to reduced power in the same race.

Therefore, with revised engine regulations, the risk can even be more. Ultimately, Christian Horner feels the lighter combustion engine like the V8 could be a good alternative, which can have eco fuel to power them.