Max Verstappen: Sprint races are boring – nobody wants to take risks

Max Verstappen says sprint races are boring, adding the format needs mixing up because “no one is prepared to take any risks”.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix – the third and final sprint race of this season – Red Bull’s double world champion said he was not much looking forward to the move to six sprint races next year.

Sprint races see the drivers qualify on a Friday after a solitary practice session, then do a shortened race on Saturday for a reduced number of points, before the main grand prix as usual on a Sunday, starting from their finishing positions from the day before. The format is part of a move from Formula One to make every day of the race weekend “count for something”.

“I’m just not a big fan of it, because I feel like we don’t really race,” said Verstappen, who is chasing a 15th win of the season at Interlagos on Sunday. “OK, there are a few points to get, but you also know that you can’t really risk it because the main race is where you really get the points.

“You don’t do a pit stop so you just put on the tyre that will last the distance. With these cars the racing is probably a little bit better, but overall you don’t really see a lot of overtaking unless there is a car out of position. Everyone has their own opinion but for me it is not that fun.

“I do like having one practice session and then straight to qualifying, I don’t mind that because it’s less practice for everyone to get fully up to speed and then you really need to nail the set-up. But I always feel when I go into a sprint race that you’re not really risking a lot because you want to play safe.”