Max Verstappen reveals sarcastic future Sprint wish: ‘Just a normal race weekend please’

Henry Valantine 04 Nov 2023 8:42 PM

Max Verstappen took top honours in the Sprint in Brazil.

Max Verstappen won another Sprint in Brazil, but that doesn't mean he's a fan of the format.

Max Verstappen has said that, rather than tweaks to spice up the Sprint format, he simply wants “a normal race weekend” instead.

The Red Bull driver won his fourth Sprint out of six this season at Interlagos on Saturday, but has been an outspoken critic of the format since its trial introduction in 2021.

The shortened races have doubled in presence for 2023 and are likely to stay in the sport beyond the end of the year, potentially with a further adjusted weekend schedule.

Max Verstappen continues Sprint criticism after latest victory

In his latest win, Verstappen overhauled polesitter Lando Norris at the start to take the lead in Brazil, which he would not relinquish for the remainder of the 24 laps.

But dsepite taking another P1 finish, he said he had to try and preserve his tyres constantly, and is uninterested in suggesting any changes to the format as a whole – preferring the traditional Grand Prix format every time.

When asked what he would change about the Sprint format to allow drivers to be more ‘racy’, Verstappen responded: “Just a normal race weekend please, thank you.

“I’m not interested in any change, I don’t like it.”

This came partially in response to Verstappen’s latest thoughts on the matter, having half-jokingly said he had to manage his tyres from the out-lap on Saturday, meaning he could not ‘sprint’ throughout the 24 laps.

“There is not one lap that I pushed flat out. You can’t. It’s impossible,” he said.

“It’s all about management and at one point of the race, it looked like Lando was catching a bit and then I had a better feeling with the car again, and I could look after the tyres a bit better and then I could pull away and at the end.

“It was close and I think tomorrow also, we have pitstops in the race, so you never know what can happen.”

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When Norris was asked for his thoughts on the matter, he agreed that tyre management was key throughout Saturday’s race, and regarding the format as a whole, he explained that those in charge have more sway than the drivers in this.

He later made it clear that he does not believe that the FIA ignore the drivers, far from it, but when it comes to the format, the concerns the drivers have will be outweighed by other players in the sport.

“It doesn’t matter what we say, you know, our choices rarely have much effect with anything, especially with this, so everything seems dictated by team bosses and what they want to do and what they choose to do,” he explained.

“I mean, you say we’re not pushing, but you still push to the limit you have. Of course you’re not pushing like it’s qualifying – I don’t think you’ve ever pushed like it’s qualifying ever in Formula 1 – but you still saw good racing apparently from everyone behind.

“If everyone is pushing flat out, I would say you’d almost most probably see less overtakes than what you would today. So in that sense, you’re probably asking for a more boring race, which is not what you want.

“So I think what we had today is tough and not the most enjoyable, you don’t feel like you’re pushing that much, but you’re still driving on the limit of the grip you’ve got and all of those things.

“It’s still a challenge for us behind the wheel. I think it’s exciting for the people who get it right and people who don’t get it right.

“But if you’ve got no degradation at all, then I probably say you’re not going to have one overtake for the whole race.”