Verstappen gets « no satisfaction » from sprint victories and wants no more of them

Introduced by the FIA in 2021 to increase the attractiveness of F1, the sprint format fails to win unanimous support. During the post-Grand Prix press conference in Austin, the director of the Circuit of the Americas even admitted that the formula had not attracted more people on Saturdays. In addition to not being in the hearts of Formula 1 fans, Formula 1 stakeholders are also not enthusiastic about this format. During a sprint weekend, everything must go quickly. There is only one practice session, and teams can no longer adjust the ride heights.

Questioned by Autosport about his view on the sprint, Max Verstappen, a triple winner of this format this season (before the Brazilian sprint), admitted to not being convinced. “There is no satisfaction in winning a sprint for me,” he said. “You cross the finish line and say, ‘Alright, well, tomorrow is the race, the main one.’ That’s how it goes. I always wonder why we have to try and invent something? In football or other sports, they don’t change the rules. It has been like that for 100 years. Why suddenly do we have to invent other things to try and make it entertaining? I think the basic format works, as long as the cars are competitive and they stay the same for a long time.”

A revision of the format is being considered.

Faced with controversies surrounding the current sprint race format, Formula 1 leaders are considering changes. Firstly, making Saturdays completely independent of the championship. Currently, the sprint race earns eight points for the winning driver in the championship. This modification would prevent the World Champion title from being won before the main race (as was the case this year in Qatar). Additionally, this development would offer a prize of up to one million euros for the winners.

Among the changes mentioned for the sprint, there would also be the possibility to reverse the grid, forcing the fastest drivers and especially increasing the number of overtakes. However, Verstappen remains firm in his position regarding the format. “I think we should simply get rid of the sprint weekend, and then everyone could set up their car normally, because this wouldn’t happen during a normal race weekend,” adds the triple World Champion, alluding to Hamilton and Leclerc’s eliminations in Austin due to setup errors. “These things only happen when you have a sprint weekend where everything is so rushed between FP1 and qualifying, and you think, ‘Hmm, maybe everything will be fine.’ Once you’re wrong, there’s nothing you can do. The only thing you can do is increase the tire pressure, but then you’re driving with balloon tires.”

The last weekend of the season sprint will take place in Brazil.