Max Verstappen Slams F1 Sprint Races Ahead Of Brazilian GP: “It’s Not Really A Race”
Two-time world champion, Max Verstappen, has commented on the sprint races that were added to the F1 calendar for the current 2022 season ahead of the last sprint race at the Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend.
Verstappen, who took the driver’s championship win at the Japanese Grand Prix this year, has said he thinks that the addition of the sprint race doesn’t bring anything to the race weekends. In an interview with The Independent, the Belgian-Dutch driver explained:
“Every time I do these races, it’s about ‘don’t get damage, make sure you stay in the top three’
“For me, that’s not really a race, because you go into the main race and you know there are way more points available anyway, you just risk a bit more there.
He continues by adding a caveat that it is exciting to do another race start. He said:
“You do another start, which is exciting, but it’s only really people who are out of position that move forward because only you put a tyre on that just lasts a whole stint and not much happens.”
The sprint races were added to bring a bit more excitement to the races as many fans find the start of the race the most exciting part before the cars spread out. It is often the case that the race start is the most dramatic part. Touching on that, Verstappen went on to explain it from a drivers point of view:
“I don’t understand what the problem is for that because we’ve had so many exciting races, so you don’t need to add one-third of a race distance.
“Everyone is so careful anyway, because if you are fighting for third and you have a little touch and you drop to last, you know your Sunday is going to be tough. So probably you won’t risk it, so that’s not really a race.”
Verstappen has won both of the sprint races so far this season at Imola and the Red Bull Ring so we are sure he will be hoping for a three out of three this weekend in the penultimate Grand Prix of the season.
The FIA have revealed that there will be six sprint races in the 2023 season and it is rumoured that there will be more than that in the 2024 season, so unfortunately for Verstappen, it doesn’t look like they are going anywhere anytime soon.
