Verstappen still not excited by sprint success

AUSTIN, Texas — Max Verstappen has reiterated his criticism of Method One’s dash race format, saying it detracts from the joy of a race weekend.

Verstappen has been a vocal opponent of dash races since they have been first launched in 2021 and has not warmed to them regardless of modifications to the format to enhance the present.

This weekend’s U.S. Grand Prix is being run to a dash format, that means qualifying for the grand prix passed off on Friday, a second qualifying — referred to as the shootout — ran on Saturday, which then set the grid for the 19-lap dash race later the identical day.

The total 56-lap grand prix will get underway on Sunday as regular.

The dash race pays out a most of eight factors for profitable with additional factors given in descending order all the way down to a single level for eighth place.

“If you need my sincere opinion about dash weekends, I do not actually get excited by it,” he stated after taking pole within the shootout and profitable the dash on the Circuit of the Americas.

“I simply really feel like when you full [Friday] qualifying you’re a bit misplaced. I really feel like we solely want one qualifying within the weekend the place you actually put every thing on the road and it feels nice.

“This morning as effectively, I put it on P1 and was like ‘pfft it is a Saturday, there’s not many factors anyway for the race’. And apart from that like now we have executed this race everybody kind of is aware of what is going on to occur tomorrow between all of the vehicles by way of tempo, so it takes away a bit the joy of it.

“If we had not executed right this moment, and we solely have the qualifying that we had yesterday, you do not actually know what is going on to occur within the race, it is thrilling to activate the TV as a result of you do not know, and in addition we do not know … however now we all know.”

When Lewis Hamilton, who completed second within the dash race and was sat subsequent to Verstappen within the press convention, prompt to the Crimson Bull driver he sounded bored by profitable, Verstappen added: “Not bored, but additionally as a fan I’d simply be dissatisfied since you kind of know the image, if nothing loopy occurs, you already know what is going on to occur tomorrow.

“So I discover that takes away a bit that magic of waking up on a Sunday and turning on the TV and also you had qualifying however you are unsure what automobile’s going to be quickest — many of the years — and it takes that magic away, I discover.”