today, 09:04 | by Mike van Weert
Max Verstappen has once again expressed his criticism of the current sprint race format. The Red Bull Racing driver thinks that a sprint race actually increases the predictability of the weekend, as everyone has been able to see what the race pace of all cars is for Sunday’s main race. In addition to the fact that the driver wants a solution for the sprint race format, Verstappen also thinks that a solution must be found for the track limits.
This weekend Red Bull seems to have done reasonably well again during the sprint race weekend in Austin. Verstappen will start Sunday’s main race from P6, but the speed he showed in qualifying indicated that the RB19 is fast. Due to track limits, Verstappen ultimately lost pole position. Things ended well for the Red Bull driver on Saturday. He took pole position for the sprint race which he ultimately managed to dominate.
Thanks to the good speed, Verstappen enjoyed himself during the race. Yet the Dutchman remains very critical of the format. “In qualifying, I have the feeling that once you have completed qualifying, you are a bit lost,” Verstappen admitted in the press conference. “I think we need one qualification on the weekend where you really put everything on the line and it feels great. I was now in P1, but it is a Saturday, so there are not many points to be awarded anyway.’
“And apart from that, now that we’ve had this race, everyone more or less knows what’s going to happen on Sunday,” the three-time world champion continued. The race pace of the RB19 reveals that Verstappen has a chance of victory. In any case, his colleagues predict a high final position for Verstappen. ‘That takes away the tension. If we only had Friday qualifying, no one really knows what will happen in the race. Then you turn on the TV because you don’t know what to expect.’
Verstappen wants a solution for track limits
In addition to the sprint race format, Verstappen is also critical of the track limits. The Red Bull driver went too wide in Turn 19 on Friday, losing his pole position. The white line at the exit of this bend was made slightly wider on Saturday, so that drivers can see it more easily and therefore better judge how to take the bend. Charles Leclerc in turn proposed to consider the curbs as track limits and not the white line.
Verstappen agrees with his colleague’s solution. ‘At the very low speed I think the white line is not a big problem, but in some corners it is difficult to judge about such a small white line. But yeah, I think we have to think of something else, because it’s difficult. Of course you don’t make these kinds of mistakes on purpose.’ The thicker white line is a good temporary solution, says Verstappen. “But we will continue to talk to the FIA to see what we can do,” said the Dutchman.
Read the article on the mobile website
Not inside
2023-10-22 07:04:00
#Verstappen #points #problem #sprint #race #format #happen #Sunday #Maximum
