“I would not enjoy it,” Max Verstappen along with other F1 drivers give verdict on the proposal of holding sprint races every weekend
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Max Verstappen
In 2021, F1 introduced the addition of Sprint Races to the calendar which would happen in order to make the sport more interesting and give the fans more racing action during the weekend. MotoGP has since decided to follow Formula 1 and has taken it to another level. The premier class of motorsport on two wheels will be having sprint races during every race weekend. This is a much bigger change compared to Formula 1 who have decided to conduct sprint races on a limited number of circuits on the calendar.
After MotoGP made the announcement last week of having Sprint races for every race weekend, F1 drivers went on to give their contrasting opinions on sprint races being held every weekend. Formula 1 brought in the idea of sprint races last season and has since only held 3 sprint races every season. This might change in the future. The Sprint format is still in the testing phase. Fans have gone one to have mixed opinions about sprints. Some of them didn’t like it but have since grown towards it. The Sprint format has a goal of providing the fans with a glimpse of Formula 1 racing action with fewer laps. This has supposedly brought in more fans which is why MotoGP is keen to adapt to this layout.
The thought of MotoGP adapting this layout might give F1 the idea of adopting it too. Drivers including Max Verstappen, Yuki Tsunoda and Valtteri Bottas went on to give their thoughts on the whole situation. All three drivers seem to be in agreement that the sport shouldn’t follow the steps of MotoGP and go on to introduce Sprints for every race weekend.
“Sunday is the day to race,” F1 driver Max Verstappen gives his thoughts on the F1 Sprint weekend
“I would not enjoy it,” he admitted. “I just don’t like it. I think that Sunday emotion and feeling should be special. That’s the only time you race. That’s how I grew up racing, anyway: Sunday is the day to race,” says Max Verstappen
Yuki Tsunoda also shared a few thoughts on the whole thing. “I don’t think there’s a benefit to every race weekend doing sprint qualifying. Sprint qualifying is kind of a special thing to have rather than just doing every race weekend and that’s why sprint qualifying is fun to watch sometimes,” he said.
Valtteri Bottass also added to this. “I don’t think we need to have sprints every weekend,” he said. “But just less practice.”
After listening to these drivers, it is clear that they aren’t a fan of the Sprint format and certainly do not want it to become the norm in F1. With MotoGP introducing Sprints full time, it will be interesting to see how things turn out for the sport as the FIA could learn something from this.
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Varad Joshi
(940 Articles Published)