Saturday’s sprint at the Interlagos saw Max Verstappen claim the final sprint win of the season. Even though the Red Bull driver won, there was hardly any excitement from the driver and fans alike. Now, Verstappen was asked about what changes could be implemented to make the format more exciting next year.
Answering this, the Red Bull driver said as per Luke Smith on X, “Just a normal race weekend, please, thank you. I’m not interested in any change. I don’t like it.” The sprint races have faced ample criticism from experts and audiences. This is the reason why F1 is devising changes in the sprint format.
Strong Saturday! Felt good out there today, we learnt a lot in a very well managed Sprint @redbullracing 🙌 Looking forward to race day 💪#BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/49fMSQwwO1
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) November 4, 2023
Admittedly, this is not the first time Max Verstappen showed disinterest in changing the format amid his race-winning prowess. Even so, he advised scrapping the whole idea and have a normal race weekend instead.
The reason behind this is suspected to be Verstappen’s disinterest in having a busy schedule and teams having less time to practice with the perfect car setting. Nevertheless, Red Bull boss Christian Horner suggested something different.
Unlike Max Verstappen, Christian Horner has a solution
As there are constant criticisms of the sprint races, therefore, there are also multiple pieces of advice to replace the current format. Red Bull boss Christian Horner also had his take on this recently.
The British team principal is of the opinion that a reverse grid might be of help as the current format is failing to get the drivers, experts as well as fans excited. On this, he said that the F1 needs to add something more to it rather than just following the normal qualification and race format.
SPRINT POINTS
Every one of our points-scorers moved around during that race! A fabulous final Sprint of the season 😍#BrazilGP #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/h0Y7SEeEHx
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 4, 2023
Even seven-time world champion and Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton favored this. He said that the reverse grid for the sprint seems better since there is fun in going up the grid from the back.
Hamilton is believed to have said this since he enjoyed coming through the grid and winning the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in 2021. The British driver started the Sprint race from P20 in 2021 and after the race, he claimed P1.
