Ever since the Sprint Race weekend structure was introduced in 2021, the paddock has been split in their opinion on the new addition. Some entities claim it’s a good opportunity to provide the fans with more entertainment, while others think it’s not necessary. One driver who has been vocal about his grievances with the format has always been Max Verstappen. When the sprint weekend was first introduced, it was received with great hopes. However, many drivers have complained that the format takes away from much-needed practice time and ultimately does not justify the potential performance loss it costs teams.

The first two seasons were mere trial runs, consisting of three sprint weekends each. But as the sprint format entered its third season, the stakes were raised to six events! While this is twice the number as before, it has failed to provide the kind of entertainment fans were expecting. Even when the rookie, Oscar Piastri, won his first-ever race in Formula 1 during the Qatar GP sprint, dismissed his achievement, not counting it as a true Grand Prix win. As we head into the last sprint of the season at the Brazilian GP, Max Verstappen expressed his disapproval of the format with the media.

Max Verstappen is not excited about the sprint-shootout ‘craziness’ ahead of the Brazilian GP

Although the sprint race has helped Max Verstappen secure his third title after Sergio Perez crashed out during the Qatar GP Sprint, the Dutchman has never been a fan of the format. A driver who believes in dialling in the perfect setup and adapting to the car, Verstappen is not fond of the idea of reducing practice time. After all, it’s during free practice when the team can gain a couple of tenths by dialling in the setup based on the track conditions. The perfect example of falling victim to lack of practice time would be Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton‘s disqualification at the US GP. Due to the limited testing, their set-up was far from ideal for the race even though it was sufficient for the sprint.

Verstappen was quoted by RBR News on Twitter, speaking on the mediocrity of the sprint weekend. He was frustrated, “Why do we need to try and invent something?  I think our product works if you just make sure that the cars are competitive and the rules will stay the same for a long time.” – blaming the lack of consistency in the rules and regulations of the sport, Verstappen had the opinion that if it’s not broken, why fix it?

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After all, the sport had been doing just fine without the sprint-shootout. If anything, the sprint race dilutes the weekend by distributing the points. While this works for the fans, it makes the races far less organic, taking away from the essence of the weekend structure. Verstappen added, “It almost sounds out of craziness that we need to come up with something.”

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The three-time champion compared F1 volatility with the stability of soccer – “Just leave it the same. In football, you don’t change the rules or in other sports. It’s been like that for 100 years.” From Verstappen’s POV, the sacrifices that the teams have to make far outweigh the little extra entertainment that the Sprint Race provides.

Formula 1 has bigger issues to address than the sprint format

Max Verstappen alluded to the lack of competition being the main factor that Formula 1 should work on. If the cars are not competitive, there won’t be any meaningful races in the first place! The Red Bull driver concluded his grievances, “Why do we suddenly need to come up with other things to try and make it entertaining? I think if you have a good race on your hands with cars being close to each other, then you don’t need a Sprint format or weekend.”

A big aspect of the sport is its competitive spirit. However, ever since the dawn of the 2000s, the sport has been dominated by one team after another. Only on rare occasions such as the 2009 season are the fans treated to a new championship-winning team.

While the 2022 regulations were introduced to produce closer racing, they’ve only made one team dominate with historical margins. Max Verstappen believes this is the very reason that the sprint format does not work. The format is too short to support entertaining strategies or have stakes high enough to entice drivers to be more aggressive. In the end, we are left with a small teaser for the main race, instead of faster-paced action.

WATCH THIS STORY: How Do Sprint Races Work at an F1 Grand Prix?

The disapproval of the current reigning champion just echoes the problems that not only the drivers but team bosses too have with this format. As the fans are continually disappointed with the lacklustre format, it’s only a matter of time before it is either revitalized or removed altogether! Who knows, the Brazilian GP might be the last time Max Verstappen has to worry about the format! Stay tuned for more.