The inaugural race of the year adopting the sprint format is slated to occur in China next weekend, a move that has left Red Bull’s Max Verstappen perplexed. Verstappen has raised doubts regarding Formula 1’s choice to introduce an F1 Sprint race weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix.
This shift marks the sport’s return to China after a hiatus of five years, with the first event employing the alternative schedule set to unfold in Shanghai later this month.
The sprint format has undergone adjustments for the 2024 season, with sprint qualifying now scheduled for Friday. The opening session on Saturday will feature the sprint race itself, preceding the grand prix qualifying session by several hours.
Notably, F1 has been absent from China since 2019 due to the limitations imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Verstappen, in discussions with the media, has voiced his criticism of the decision to implement the altered weekend schedule in Shanghai.
He expressed his reservations about the numerous uncertainties surrounding the upcoming event, stating, “It’s very smart to do that,” in a tone laden with sarcasm.
“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.”
Verstappen, however, admitted that the decision to host the event at a venue absent from the calendar for several years generates increased excitement.
“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.”
