F1 has revamped the Sprint Race format once again in 2024. In 2023, the Sprint Shootout and the Sprint Race took place on a Saturday. Meanwhile, Qualifying for the Main Grand Prix took place right after FP1 on Friday. However, from this season onwards, after the first and only practice session on Friday, we will have the Sprint Shootout. Saturday would then feature the Sprint Race followed by Qualifying for the main race. And even though the sport has made such efforts to better structure the Sprint Weekend, three-time world champion Max Verstappen is still not impressed.
Verstappen has, on more than one occasion, slammed the concept of Sprint Races. However, even with F1 revamping the schedule, the #1 driver is least interested. Soymotor.com quoted the 26-year-old as saying, “The change makes a little more logic, but I am not more excited about winning or fighting in this type of races.”
The new Sprint format is intended to make the Grand Prix weekend more exciting than before. With a Qualifying session each on Friday and Saturday along with two races back-to-back, the entire weekend will have full-throttle action non-stop.
That being said, Verstappen still remains unimpressed. He has always been a very strong critic of the concept, and has even gone as far as saying that the idea is to only generate maximum revenue.
However, despite his criticism, he is yet the most successful driver during Sprint Race weekends. The Dutchman has so far won a whopping 7 out of the 12 Sprint Races that have taken place.
Why does Max Verstappen disagree with Lewis Hamilton about Sprint Races?
When the concept was first introduced for the 2021 season, even Lewis Hamilton was apprehensive about it. However, soon after, the Briton began enjoying such weekends. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen continues to remain unimpressed.
Back at the 2021 Sao Paulo GP, the stewards forced Hamilton to start from P20 in the Sprint Race. After a heroic performance, he scrambled up to P5 for the main race on Sunday. He then again got a 5-place grid penalty.
However, from P10, he went on to win the race. After his win, Hamilton dubbed the race as “the most special race of my career,” per Formula1.com.
On the other hand, Verstappen has never been inspired by any of the Sprint Races he’s taken part in or won. Despite winning more than 50% of the Sprint events, he still remains one of the harshest critics of the concept.
Moreover, the extreme commercialization of the sport has also irked the Dutchman. As a result, he has been touted to drop out of the sport before he even turns 30.
