Max Verstappen has regained his dominance in the sport after a mishap in Australia. Clearly, Red Bull was the favorite to dominate in Japan. And they really did despite a lot of anticipation from Ferrari and Mercedes. In Australia, due to engine and brake issues, the Austrian team lost their place at the top of the grid. It was the Dutch racer who had a DNF in Melbourne. His teammate, Sergio Perez, had a P5 finish in the Australian Grand Prix. On the other hand, Ferrari had a one-two finish in Melbourne.
Later, some fans claimed that the Maranello team had figured out a way to beat the reigning champions. But those conjectures did not stand ground in Japan as Max Verstappen got back to winning ways and Red Bull had a one-two finish yet again. It was Red Bull’s third one-two finish in 2024. Moreover, the Austrian outfit goes on to extend their lead from the rest. On the other hand, F1 is getting ready to race again in China. But that won’t be a normal race weekend as F1 announced it will be sprint race weekend. Apparently, Max Verstappen is not too happy about it.
Max Verstappen Feels The Return To The Chinese GP Should Not Have Been A Sprint Race Weekend
Since 2019, F1 will return to the Shanghai International Circuit for the first time later this month. Due to the problem of the COVID-19 pandemic, Formula 1 has been absent in China for five years. In the next couple of weeks, F1 will return to their first of six sprint weekends this year. These races will offer points for F1 drivers on Saturday’s 100km standalone race. However, the drivers will get only one free practice session to know the track well. Moreover, Max Verstappen is not happy about the first sprint weekend of the year happening in China.
In the post-race interview in Suzuka, Japan, Max mentioned that he does not think it is a great idea to do that. Moreover, the current triple-time champion mentioned that it is hard to tell what the experience will be like driving on a track after as many as five years. These drivers have been away from the Shanghai track for a while. Hence, Max Verstappen mentioned that it should have been a normal race weekend. He just does not think it is the smartest thing to do from purely a driving perspective or from the performance perspective of the sport. Anyhow, Max is looking forward to what they will get there.
Dutch Racer Believes Things Might Get Interesting For Fans In China
Clearly, Red Bull and Max Verstappen are the strongest at this point when the car seems reliable. That’s exactly what the Red Bull champ proved in the Japanese Grand Prix. But Max also feels a sprint lottery in Shanghai might just spice things up for the fans.
The Dutch racer feels the fans would like to see more competitive races, and perhaps the Chinese sprint GP will display just that. Max also mentioned that he had always loved racing in China. Hence, he hopes his team will be able to hit the ground running as hard as they can. Moreover, Max Verstappen hopes that his team won’t need to do too much “Finetuning on the car.”
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