From sprint races to new street tracks, F1 has introduced several changes lately to make the sport exciting for the audience. However, reigning champion Max Verstappen has expressed his dissent for both concepts on various occasions. The Dutchman, after the street race in Jeddah recently, let his dissatisfaction known.
Speaking with Viaplay, Verstappen said, “Generally speaking, I don’t get a kick out of street tracks. Of course in qualifying I do. Your heart rate goes up quite a bit then to really take it to the limit.”
The Red Bull driver then also talked about the risks of driving on a track like Jeddah. He highlighted the high-speed nature of the track and cautioned, “It’s waiting for a huge accident to happen.”
Max: [Jeddah] is really nice to drive but I’m aware of how dangerous the layout is. If you have a tiny moment in the high-speed corners it can go very wrong. So I feel like it’s waiting for a huge accident to happen. That’s why I find it a bit hard to come here. Maybe I find it a bit too high risk
byu/OutlandishnessPure2 informula1
F1, however, seems keen on introducing more street tracks with each passing year. Banking on the locations in the center of major bustling cities, the sport’s management is doubling down on investments in street or hybrid tracks (partly street and dedicated race track section).
The Miami circuit, introduced in 2022, the Las Vegas Strip in 2023, and the upcoming Madrid circuit, are all street or hybrid tracks. Meanwhile, it is pertinent to note that it is not just Max Verstappen who is not a fan of F1 introducing more and more street tracks.
Fans too have expressed their disappointment as well. The most recent pushback came through social media when reports of the Madrid street track surfaced.
The reason behind fans’ rebellion against street circuits
With the central location in the host city, street circuits attract easier and heavier footfall. The easy access ensures the least inconvenience to the fans attending the race weekend.
Moreover, easier access to hotels and other accommodation facilities is another attractive prospect. All these factors give rise to interest emerging from cities to host a Grand Prix and earn a good profit on their investment.
However, the charm of street tracks is failing to live up to its expectations. Races on a street circuit often turn out to be dull events with not much action catching the eye.
The latest example came in the form of the recently concluded Saudi Arabian GP. Max Verstappen started from the front and comfortably finished ahead of the pack. Behind him, there were a few battles fought, but very few of those converted into some memorable overtakes.
New circuits F1 has added recently
Madrid (street track)
Las Vegas (street track)
Miami (street track)
Jeddah (street track)
Baku (street track)
Qatar (permanent track)Spa, Zandvoort, Silverstone, Monza & Barcelona are some of the tracks with expiring deals soon too. Worrying. pic.twitter.com/8xrltPElwn
— Daniel Valente ️ (@F1GuyDan) January 23, 2024
There are two reasons behind the lack of overtakes. Firstly, modern F1 cars have become bigger with each passing regulation. As a result, these cars cover more area on the track than ever before.
The other reason is the narrow layout of street tracks. The public roads are enough to cater to road cars, but the width of these street circuits proves inadequate for F1 cars.
Coming back to the consensus among fans, there is also a factor of romanticism at play. Having witnessed some iconic moments on conventional tracks, fans are unwilling to part ways with these legacy circuits. Unfortunately, F1 might have to scrap some of these fixtures for the upcoming seasons.
Currently, there are doubts that the Barcelona circuit will continue to feature races once Madrid joins the calendar. Considering F1’s recent trajectory, it wouldn’t even come as a surprise if some more conventional circuits were axed to make space for more street tracks.
