- Verstappen’s F1 jibe saw the all-electric series gain new followers overnight.
- Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds sent Verstappen cheeky invite to join them.
- Dodds now wants Verstappen in the Gen4 car, and others have asked for a test.
Max Verstappen did not mean to do Formula E any favours. But when the four-time world champion compared F1’s new 2026 cars to Formula E machinery during pre-season testing in Bahrain, the all-electric series quietly picked up something it could not have bought: lots of overnight attention.
The Red Bull four-time champion’s frustration was real. He found the energy management demands of F1’s new power units deeply unimpressive.
The units now split output almost equally between combustion and electrical energy, and Verstappen said the experience felt nothing like traditional Formula 1.
“Not a lot of fun, to be honest,” he said during testing. “As a driver, the feeling is not very Formula 1-like. It feels a bit more like Formula E on steroids.”
He called the cars “anti-racing,” and kept saying it even after the opening races of the season.
Formula E’s unexpected fortune
Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds recently confirmed that Verstappen’s remarks sent a large number of curious fans rushing to the championship’s videos, races and social media pages.
The series gained more than 50,000 new followers in the weeks following the Dutchman’s comments.
“The weekend when Max talked about us, a load more people went online and viewed our videos and looked at our races and understood a bit more about the championship,” Dodds told Sports Business Journal.
“So far this year, we’ve added, I think, over 50,000 new followers to our social following, so that’s all good for us. I also think what it’s good for is it’s raising the awareness of electrification for a lot of these people in racing,” Dodds added.
While Verstappen aired his grievances in Bahrain, Formula E was racing in Jeddah, roughly 1,500 km away. Dodds saw this as an opportunity. He picked up his phone and sent Verstappen a message.
“I dropped Max a message yesterday to basically say, ‘you’re in Bahrain, I’m in Jeddah, if you fancy coming here instead, I’ll come and get you,'” Dodds told RacingNews365. “So I was being naughty when I messaged him.”
The response was more than just a PR instinct. Dodds and Verstappen have history. Two years ago, the pair shared a charity bet that split $250,000 between them. Their relationship has stayed warm since.
“I’m a big Max fan,” Dodds said. “I think he’s great for the sport. I think he’s a generational talent in the car.”
Verstappen’s criticism, intended as a verdict on F1’s direction, had handed Formula E something rare: a free, globally televised mention from one of motorsport’s biggest names. Dodds understood that immediately.
“When one of the generational talents of a sport speaks and decides to reference you as a comparison, that can’t be bad,” he said. “More people are talking about Formula E today than were talking about it yesterday.”
A genuine invitation to Max Verstappen
Dodds did not stop at the playful text message. He made a real case for why Verstappen might actually enjoy what Formula E is building next.
The Gen4 car, the series’ next major technical step, produces 600 kilowatts of power. It features permanent all-wheel drive and accelerates from zero to 100 kilometres per hour in 1.8 seconds.
That is quicker than Verstappen’s current F1 car.
“If Max got in the Gen4 car, I think he’d love it,” Dodds said. “Instant torque, so instant violence, put your foot down, you’re at 100 kilometres in 1.8 seconds. I actually think he’d love it.”
The invitation is open to the entire F1 grid. Dodds revealed that several F1 drivers had already approached him quietly, asking for a private test of the Gen4. He declined to name them.
“I’ve actually had conversations with F1 drivers asking, ‘Can I have a go privately? I’d love to have a go,'” he said. “Max hasn’t been one of those, but others have.”
Dodds framed the Gen4 not just as a fast car but as a window into where the sport is heading. “If they want a glimpse of where this sport is going, you go and sit in that Gen4 car,” he said.
Formula E does not need F1 to fail
Dodds has been deliberate about one thing throughout all of this. Formula E is not waiting for F1 to stumble.
He respects what F1 does. He studies it even. But he is also clear that the two series must stay distinct from each other, or both lose something.
“I don’t need them to fail for us to be successful,” Dodds said on the Business of Sport podcast. “It’s really, really important for us that we don’t just become two versions of the same thing.”
He even suggested that Formula E’s racing style may grow closer to what Verstappen actually wants, as the championship evolves. The gap between the two series, in his view, may narrow rather than hold.
What started as one driver’s complaint about his own sport became, in a matter of days, a genuine conversation about another.
Formula E gained followers, coverage and credibility. Dodds gained a talking point. And Verstappen, without trying, gave the all-electric series one of its better moments of the year.
