Max Verstappen’s least favourite Formula 1 format is in action once again this weekend at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, where the final sprint race of the season will be hosted.
This weekend will feature the sixth and final sprint of the season, something which will presumably bring a smile to the three-time World Champion’s face.
Verstappen is hugely against the sprint format and has been ever since it was initially discussed ahead of the 2021 season, when they were introduced.
The Red Bull driver very much prefers the traditional F1 format of having three practice sessions, rather than one practice session then going straight into qualifying.
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This caught out Mercedes and Ferrari at the United States Grand Prix, which was the most recent venue to host a sprint.
Due to how soon parc ferme conditions are introduced on a sprint weekend, neither team noticed that Lewis Hamilton’s and Charles Leclerc’s planks didn’t comply with the technical regulations.
As a result, both drivers were disqualified from the race following post-race checks conducted by the FIA.
Verstappen actually defended Hamilton and Leclerc and insisted that they would never have been disqualified had it not been for the sprint format, something he wants F1 to “just get rid of”.
“We should just get rid of the sprint weekend and then everyone can just set up their cars normally. It wouldn’t have happened that we would have had a normal race weekend,” Verstappen said at the recent US GP, as reported by The Express.
“These things only happen when you have a sprint weekend where everything is so rushed into your in-between FP1 and qualifying.
“From our side, I think we went a bit too conservative, but that’s still better than the other way.”
Verstappen has called for the sprint format to be scrapped all season, whilst he even admitted that he’d potentially quit the sport if “too many changes” are made to the traditional timetable.
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He made the comment about quitting back at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where the first sprint of 2023 was hosted.
“I don’t find that is in the DNA of Formula One to do these kind of sprint races,” Verstappen said earlier in the season in Azerbaijan. “I hope there won’t be too many changes, otherwise I won’t be around for too long.
“I am not a fan of it at all. When we do all that kind of stuff, the weekend becomes very intense and we already do a lot of races.”