At the weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen renewed his threat that he could quit Formula 1 at the end of this season if the sport's power-unit regulations do not change, but could there be more to the story than simply the Red Bull driver's frustrations?

Verstappen first revealed he was considering his future following the third round of the season in Japan at the end of March, as he was unhappy about the unnatural style of driving and racing caused by the new car rules.

However, he was more positive about remaining in F1 following tweaks to the regulations ahead of the Miami Grand Prix and an announcement from the FIA that an agreement had been reached in principle with the teams for power-unit changes in 2027.

So if there is an agreement in place, why is Verstappen thinking about his F1 future again?

What are the changes for 2027 and why?

Tweaks have already been made to the operation of the power units this season, including energy harvesting and deployment limits, to create more flat-out driving and for safety reasons following Haas' Oliver Bearman's big crash at Suzuka when he was caught out by the difference in speed between himself and Alpine's Franco Colapinto approaching a high-speed corner.

The drivers all agreed it was a step in the right direction but some, including Verstappen, feel more needs to be done.

"I mean the whole energy management stuff is just a joke. It's super painful at the moment," said Verstappen in Montreal.

"You try to push more. Then you have less energy, it's clipping more, and then you have to use a different gear, so you go slower in the corner but faster in the next straight. It has nothing to do with racing for me. It's really, really frustrating."

The current power units are almost split evenly between internal combustion and electrical power - the 50 per cent electrical element makes F1 more road relevant and was partly a reason for Audi joining the sport and Honda returning as a fully-fledged engine manufacturer.

For 2027, F1, the FIA and the teams agreed in principle to increase the proportion of total power coming from the internal combustion engine and decrease the electrical power, which would create a 60-40 split.

This would effectively mean the drivers can push flat out in qualifying without the need to lift and coast at all, with little to no harvesting - recharging the battery at the end of straights.

Engine manufacturers not on the same page

For the changes to take place, four of the six manufacturers on the Power Unit Advisory Committee must back the proposal. Although there seemed to be unanimity earlier this month, that has quickly changed.

Only Mercedes and Red Bull are in favour of changes for 2027, while Audi, Ferrari and Cadillac are against. Cadillac are set to have their own F1 engine by the end of this decade but are still on the committee.

Honda are yet to take a stance, but, currently, even if Honda decided to be for the changes, it would need one more engine manufacturer on side to get the changes through.

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said: "I'm optimistic we will find the right solutions. I'm optimistic we'll find a majority of people agreeing on improving the regulations.

"When it comes to what matters for the sport, I think at some stage we will all put on the side what we feel it may or may not do to our relative competitiveness to do a step in the right direction for the sport. Ultimately, we'll get to that point."

Of the leading teams in F1, Ferrari have the worst power unit but are set to gain via the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) catch-up mechanism since they are at least two per cent down on the benchmark power unit - which is either Mercedes or Red Bull depending on who you speak to in the paddock.

If the power-unit regulations are changed, everyone would likely be allowed to develop their power units to get ready for the new 2027 rules. Ferrari do not want this and feel they can close their gap to Mercedes with ADUO, knowing they are already very competitive in the corners.

Another complication is some teams want to carry over their current chassis into next year and changing the power-unit regulations may impact this. This would create additional costs which is Audi's main sticking point.

Realistically, any changes for 2027 need to be confirmed by the end of June to give the teams at least six months to adapt to new regulations. Should it run on, the FIA could look at pushing back its proposal to 2028, but would that be too late for Verstappen?

Will Verstappen really walk away from F1?

On one hand, you could think Verstappen's quit threat is part of the politics to get changes for 2027 - which his Red Bull team want. However, he has generally lived up to his straight-talking, no-nonsense persona, even when speaking to the media and it feels like he is being genuine with his comments.

Do not forget, he warned about cars slowing down on straights and the potential for yoyo-style racing as early as 2023 - a year he utterly dominated with a record-breaking 19 wins.

Verstappen claimed his first podium of the season on Sunday, despite missing out on second after an intense battle with Lewis Hamilton.

The Red Bull driver admitted he enjoyed the fight "a lot" but it still was not fully natural, which is his main concern about the current regulations.

"I know how pure other motorsports can feel like so when you come back to this it is not very nice," he told Sky Sports F1, seemingly referencing his exploits in other race cars.

"I don't want to be too negative after a race like this but I know what it feels like to have natural racing, pure overtakes.

"This is all, especially in Qualifying, anti-driving and anti-racing and that is not what F1 should be about. I really hope we get a 60-40 next year as that should help."

Verstappen was asked in Canada if he would consider a sabbatical in 2027 then return to F1 in 2028, but that does not seem to be on the cards as he responded: "No. There's a lot of other fun things out there."

In that case, Verstappen's F1 future lies in the hands of other engine manufacturers…

Next up is the start of Formula 1's European summer swing, with the Monaco Grand Prix the first of six races in eight weeks. Watch live on Sky Sports F1 from June 5-7. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime

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