Max Verstappen slams F1 for sprint weekend in Shanghai, calls it 'not a smart move'

After the conclusion of the Japanese Grand Prix Formula 1 is set to stay in Asia for a bit. The next race weekend will be hosted in Shanghai, China as F1 returns to the country after five years. This will be the first race in China since 2019 as COVID guidelines caused hurdles for the brand.

It’s worth noting that Formula 1 has decided to include a sprint race in the schedule to make things interesting in China. However, Japan GP winner Max Verstappen doesn’t find it a smart move. According to him, it will cause difficulties due to ‘various unknowns ahead.’

“It's very smart to do that,” the Dutchman said sarcastically. I think it's not great, let's say like that, to do that. Because when you have been away from a track for quite a while, I think you never know what you're going to experience, right? So, it would have been better to have a normal race weekend there”, he further added.

“It spices things up”, says Max Verstappen 

Despite finding it difficult the Red Bull driver accepted the need for sprint in Shanghai as it will host a race after years. He said that these things elevate the stakes and attract more viewers. He said, “On the other hand, it probably spices things up a bit more, and that's maybe what they would like to see.”

“But purely from a driving perspective, performance perspective of the sport, I think it's not the smartest thing to do. We'll see what we get there, I always loved driving there. Hopefully, we can hit the ground running as well as we can, and hopefully, we don't need to fine-tune too many things on the car”, he further added.

Notably at Shanghai, Verstappen will look to continue his and Red Bull’s dominance in the ongoing season. The team has named 1-2 position Japan making it their third trophy in the ongoing season.