“I don’t know, if someone likes this, then you really don’t know what racing is about. It’s not fun at all. It’s playing Mario Kart. This is not racing.”

Much has been made of Verstappen’s remarks and Piquet has entered the debate by suggesting the Dutchman would feel far better about the rules if he was competing for Mercedes. Speaking on the Pelas Pistas podcast, he said: “Max is like that.

“He wants to have the best car. If you asked him which championship he preferred – the one won at the final race or the one wrapped up five races early – he would pick the one secured with five races to spare. That is simply the way he is.

Max Verstappen has struggled to keep up with the Mercedes drivers this season(Image: Getty Images)

“It is natural for him to complain in this situation, but if he were driving the Mercedes, he would be very quiet and would not be saying anything at all. I am absolutely certain of that.”

Verstappen has been strongly associated with Mercedes in the past. However, with Russell and Antonelli kicking off the new season impressively, it’s yet to be seen whether a transfer will come to fruition in 2027.

Alongside his rant on the new rules, Verstappen played down excitement of a potential battle for the championship between Mercedes and Ferrari drivers. “It’s just Kimi [Antonelli] or George [Russell] that is winning, right?” Verstappen said. “It’s not really back and forth. They’re miles ahead of the field.

“It’s just that Ferrari sometimes has these good starts that they push themselves in front, and then it takes a few laps to sort it all out. Like I said, this has nothing to do with racing.

“I would say the same if I would be winning races, because I care about the racing product. It’s not about being upset of where I am, because I’m actually fighting even more now, of course.

“So you get to understand what you have to do and what it is about even more. For me, it’s really a joke.”