Method E CEO Jeff Dodds has invited Max Verstappen to this weekend’s Jeddah E-Prix after the Purple Bull driver slammed the 2026 Method 1 vehicles as “Method E on steroids”.
Verstappen prompted a stir on the second day of the F1 testing in Bahrain when he voiced concerns about the new generation of grand prix machinery, notably criticising the better reliance on vitality administration.
“A number of what you do as a driver, by way of inputs, has an enormous impact on the vitality facet of issues,” he defined on Thursday. “For me, that is simply not Method 1. Perhaps it is higher to drive Method E, proper? As a result of that is all about vitality, effectivity and administration.”
These remarks had been interpreted by some as dismissive of Method E, the place drivers should fastidiously handle vitality utilization and use lift-and-coast strategies to recharge their automobile’s battery.
Dodds stated he understands the place Verstappen is coming from and described the Dutchman as somebody who likes “uncooked and traditionalist motorsport”.
The Briton revealed that he despatched a tongue-in-cheek textual content message to the 28-year-old, declaring he might expertise Method E first-hand this weekend because the all-electric championship hosts rounds 4 and 5 of the 2025/26 season in Jeddah – simply 1500km from neighbouring Bahrain.
“I dropped Max a message yesterday to principally say, ‘you are in Bahrain, I am in Jeddah, for those who fancy coming right here as a substitute, I am going to come and get you.’ So I used to be being naughty after I messaged him,” Dodds stated.
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Picture by: Joe Portlock / LAT Pictures through Getty Pictures
“I am not shocked in any respect [by the comments]. A lot of [the Formula E drivers] and most of the workforce principals contacted me to say it as an important alternative for us. A number of them are saying to me that it is nice that he even references Method E, as a result of it is nice for consciousness. I feel it is a good alternative for us to indicate individuals what we’re made from, and the place we’re going.
“What you will see right here is shut fight, elbows-out [racing], 150 overtakes in all probability within the race So, if extra individuals from his feedback suppose, oh go and take a look [at Formula E], [that is] nice for me.”
Verstappen would “love” Gen4 vehicles
Method E will introduce new technical rules within the 2026-27 season, with the Gen4 automobile able to producing 800bhp and that includes an all-wheel drive system. The championship expects a “very small” efficiency hole between F1 and Method E when the Gen4 automobile makes its debut later this yr.
Dodds believes Verstappen would relish the pace and the superior acceleration of its Gen4 challenger, which is seen as an enormous improve to the present Gen3 Evo equipment.
“If Max obtained within the Gen4 automobile, I feel he’d find it irresistible,” stated Dodds. “600 kilowatts of uncooked energy, everlasting all-wheel drive, 70% extra energy than the present automobile, lap instances that will not be a lot totally different to a Method 1 automobile within the new period, on the spot torque, so on the spot violence, put your foot down, you are at 100 kilometres in 1.8 seconds, a lot sooner than his present Method 1 automobile, a lot sooner than a GT3 automobile, I really suppose he’d find it irresistible.
“I am going to maintain teasing him and welcoming him to come back and have a go.”
Porsche Gen 4
Picture by: Porsche
Dodds believes that Verstappen’s frustration stems from the elemental philosophy behind F1’s 2026 guidelines, which considerably improve {the electrical} contribution of the ability unit whereas retaining the interior combustion engine.
Beneath the brand new rules, electrical energy will account for roughly half of the entire output, marking the largest energy unit overhaul in additional than a decade.
“What he stated shouldn’t be a shock to me. I am paraphrasing Max now, he could disagree, but when I boil it down, what he is actually saying is that he feels compromised within the automobile,” Dodds defined.
“He feels prefer it’s now not foot-down, uncooked, flat-out racing. He feels prefer it’s a special racing fashion as a result of there is a compromise of applied sciences within the automobile, and he isn’t having fun with that as a lot. Thus far. He could be taught to find it irresistible, time will inform.
“In Method 1, you have all the time needed to protect one thing. This automobile’s about preserving vitality, however you have all the time needed to protect tyres or gas or one thing. There’s all the time been technique in racing, and it is a totally different technique.
“However [in 2026], I’d say that it is a pulling collectively of two applied sciences, after which they’re making an attempt to make that work a bit.
Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche Method E Staff, Jeff Dodds, CEO of Method E
Picture by: Hector Vivas / Getty Pictures
“After all, you must have new electrical know-how, as a result of that is the way in which the world is shifting, however equally, they need to retain the combustion engine, to retain the sound and the legacy and the historical past and the character of the driving fashion.
“Whereas in Method E, we have solely ever been electrical, so we optimise our racing format and our fashion of driving round one single know-how, and I feel Max is discovering that fairly troublesome on this Method 1 automobile, as a result of it is a compromise of two applied sciences.
“However I additionally suppose it’s extremely troublesome for them, as a result of in some respect, the stress of the producers might be that we have to be electrical, as a result of that is the way in which the world’s going, and we’re making an attempt to develop know-how via the Method 1 programme.
“However equally, they need to retain the fan base, the historical past, the fashion of driving and the noise and the whole lot that goes with it, which implies it’s extremely troublesome to discover a stability for that.”
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