Sep.1 (GMM) Max Verstappen has admitted his opposition to adding more ‘sprint race’ weekends to the Formula 1 calendar.
Three sprint race weekends are on the 2022 calendar, with normal qualifying held on Friday, a short grid-deciding race on Saturday, and the main action on Sunday.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, however, wants to expand the sprint feature to at least six grands prix in 2023.
World champion Max Verstappen is opposed.
“I just don’t like the sprints,” he told motorsport-magazin.com.
“The emotions on a Sunday must be special. It’s the only day you should be racing. That’s how I grew up.”
MotoGP is going even further than Formula 1, introducing a new sprint race format for the entirety of the 2023 season.
Some riders are unhappy about it.
“I wouldn’t like that either,” Dutchman Verstappen, 24, agrees.
“The sprints we’ve done so far haven’t really changed the results,” he explained.
“Everyone starts on the same tyre and ends the sprint in the same position as they started. Because you’re afraid that you will have an accident and then have to start from behind in the feature race where there are big points to be gained.
“Everyone wants to make sure the sprint runs smoothly and I don’t think that’s the point,” he insisted.
Yes they are boring. Qualifying on a Saturday is good to watch with the cars at their fastest. I can’t watch it on a Friday.