For months, Max Verstappen's rhetoric about staying in Formula 1 has come with a warning label attached. The 2026 cars were not what he wanted. The hybrid power balance, in his view, had drifted away from what made the sport feel like racing. And whether he would still be on the grid in 2028 was, repeatedly, an open question.
In Montreal on Thursday, the warning label came off – at least partially.
Asked about the proposed 2027 tweak to the new power-unit rules, which would shift the engine-to-battery balance back toward a stronger combustion contribution, the four-time world champion did not hide his approval.
"I mean, it's definitely heading into a very positive direction," Verstappen said. "I think it's like the minimum I was hoping for, and I think it's really nice that that's what they want to do. That's definitely what I think also the sport needs."
The key shift came when Verstappen was pressed directly on whether the proposal influences his appetite to remain in F1 beyond his current contract.
"Yes, definitely. I mean, I just want a good product in Formula 1 and that will for sure improve the product," he said.
He went further.
"I mean, like I said before, it will make the product better. So that means that I'm happier and that's what I want to be able to continue in Formula 1," Verstappen said. "I always wanted to continue anyway, but I always wanted to see change."
That caveat – "I always wanted to continue anyway" – is the line F1 chiefs will quietly highlight. It is the closest Verstappen has come, in this hybrid era specifically, to publicly signalling that the noise about leaving was conditional rather than absolute. The condition has now been at least partially met.
The 2027 proposal, agreed in principle earlier this month, is a response to the issues exposed by the early 2026 races. The cars have suffered with so-called "power clipping" on long straights, where the electrical deployment drops away before the corner and creates artificial-feeling overtakes. A heavier combustion share, the FIA argues, would reduce that effect and give drivers more usable energy through a lap.
Verstappen had warned of this exact scenario as far back as 2023, when he predicted the new regulations would produce cars that looked terrible and that the strongest engine would simply win. He has not been shy about reminding people of that prediction. Thursday's tone was different.
"I'm happy where I'm at. I see the team really progressing and that's also very exciting to see," he added, in a clear nod to Red Bull's in-season trajectory.
He also credited the FIA and F1 management for actually listening to the people driving the cars – a pointed contrast to the more combative public exchanges of recent months over swearing penalties and conduct rules.
"It's just great that they're open-minded and they listen to the drivers," Verstappen said. "We just want to make it a better product and that's why you come up with recommendations."
For Stefano Domenicali and Mohammed Ben Sulayem, that sentence is worth more than any contract announcement. The threat of Verstappen walking away from F1 in 2028 has hung over the sport's commercial narrative since the 2026 regulations were locked in. With the 2027 tweak now framed by the sport's most marketable driver as the "minimum" required to keep him interested, that threat has been formally downgraded.
It is not a contract extension. It is not a commitment to a single team. But it is the first time Verstappen has publicly said, in this paddock and on this record, that the changes coming are enough for him to see a future.
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*Originally published on [News Formula One](https://newsformula.one/article/verstappen-2027-engine-very-positive-stay-f1-canada-2026). Visit for full coverage.*
