“It Is Not Sustainable”: Max Verstappen Calls Formula 1 Out for Putting Revenue Over the Health and Safety of Drivers

Within a span of a week, F1 traveled to Abu Dhabi after the inaugural Las Vegas GP in America. After his trip from the US to the Middle East, Max Verstappen let his thoughts be known about the F1 calendar and its impact on sustainability and driver health, per GPBlog.com.

Verstappen began by stating, “It’s a little strange that we are on the other side of the world before we get here. Especially when you talk about sustainability, it’s probably not very sustainable.” This comes off the back of F1’s promise of moving towards ‘zero emissions’. Verstappen doesn’t buy it. “[It’s not good] Not only for emissions but also for the human body.”

The 2023 F1 calendar had 24 races, but two of them got cancelled. Next year, the sport hopes to race at 24 different circuits to make up the championship. With all the logistics and human effort required, the three-time world champion believes it’s neither good for the environment nor the drivers.

For the drivers, moving around continents year-long has massive ramifications on their bodies. They suffer from jet lag often and also have very busy schedules with all the media duties and sponsorship obligations. But Verstappen acknowledges that the sport is working towards sorting out the calendar in the future.

2024 could be Max Verstappen ‘s biggest year yet

Next year, F1 aims to host 24 races, which is an unprecedented number in the history of this sport. Las Vegas and Qatar retain their places on the calendar for next year. China, meanwhile, will make a comeback for the first time since 2019. Imola too, which got cancelled this season, will feature in 2o24.

Verstappen has already won 18 out of the 21 Grands Prix run this year. However, next year, he would want to make it a whitewash. Naturally, with an extended calendar, Verstappen will have a lot of racing action on his plate. To dominate in 2024, he will have to be on the top of his game, mentally and physically.

That being said, the RB20 is reportedly going to be an improvement upon the RB19 of this year. Hence, the three-time world champion would be looking to extend his reign at the top of Formula 1 for yet another season.