The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new. Max Verstappen‘s recently undertaken philosophy for racing might sound ironic to many. The new philosophy is the complete opposite of what his philosophy was when he challenged Lewis Hamilton and came out on top. But what is this new philosophy and why is it ironic of him to say this? Has Verstappen grown up and matured to realize something new, or is it just because this new philosophy suits him and the team better?

The fight for the 2021 driver’s title came down to the wire and was settled at the last race. Mercedes clearly had the fastest car the whole season and the only reason why Verstappen was able to stick with Hamilton was because of his aggressive driving style. The Dutchman risked everything at all the races, pushing himself and the car beyond limits. However, this style may have kept him alive in the championship but did put his life at risk as well. The crash at Jeddah in 2021 is a perfect example of this, where Verstappen pushed the car beyond its limit.

Since the introduction of ground-effect cars, Red Bull has been the outright pacesetter. Now that the 25-year-old is in the fastest car, it seems that his philosophy regarding driving style has changed. The two-time -world champion believes that if a driver has a fast enough car, then he should not be taking risks. The Red Bull driver prefers to keep his car out of trouble on Saturday and have a chance of making places up on Sunday. Verstappen also suggested that the sprints are not a part of the Formula 1 DNA.

According to soymotor.com, Max Verstappen said, “For me, when you have a fast car, you shouldn’t take risks. I prefer to keep my car alive and have a good chance on Sunday. If you change the format, I don’t think this kind of ‘sprint’ is part of Formula 1’s DNA. This category consists of getting the most out of qualifying and having an incredible Sunday.”

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Max Verstappen has been against the sprint race ever since it was introduced. While many drivers like George Russell have started enjoying the sprints, Verstappen still is against it and has explained how it burdens the team on an already long race calendar. However, Verstappen did suggest a way to make the racing more interesting.

Max Verstappen suggests a way to introduce more action into the weekend

The 25-year-old believes that sprint is not the right way to make all the days of the weekend interesting. He previously suggested cutting down the weekend to Saturday and Sunday only. Max Verstappen recently suggested that if there are more cars capable of winning races, the racing will automatically become interesting. With six or seven teams challenging for the top spot, FIA will not have to change anything to make the racing interesting for the fans.

According to soymotor.com, Max Verstappen said, “How you get more and more action is when you have the most evenly matched cars, when there are more and more cars capable of winning the race. So naturally, the show is going to be great, if there are six or seven teams fighting for victory, That would be incredible. If you have something like that, you don’t really need to change anything.”

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What do you make of Max Verstappen’s change in philosophy regarding the risk-taking factor?