Verstappen and criticism of the new F1
It is no secret that Max Verstappen has been the most critical driver towards the new direction of F1, so much so that in China he came to state that this type of racing – influenced by battery energy management – could only appeal to those who didn’t know what racing really was. The words of the four-time world champion then generated a reply from Stefano Domenicali, CEO of F1, who had gently scolded him by speaking of “an approach of transparency sometimes excessive”.
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Jos Verstappen defends Max and growls at critics
From the columns of De Telegraaf Max’s father intervened, the former F1 driver Jos Verstappen, who commented on his son’s words as follows: “When he gets on track you immediately notice that he doesn’t like driving these cars at all. I perfectly understand his frustration. As a driver you should be rewarded for your courage and your qualities. But if now you approach a corner as fast as possible, you end up being slower in the lap. And this takes away all the feeling that a race should give, they are focused only on the battery. This makes it more difficult for a driver like Max to make the difference, as a driver you can hardly showcase your talent anymore. In racing you overtake on braking, while now you see overtakes in the middle of the straight because the other has run out of energy. Chaos is created and this chaos appeals to a certain type of audience”. And he continued: “Racing with these cars doesn’t stimulate Max, I’m afraid he’s losing his motivation. And this is becoming a problem for the future”.
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Jos Verstappen then responded harshly to his son’s critics, only in recent weeks have Gunther Steiner, Ralf Schumacher and Nelsinho Piquet been recorded: “Those comments drive me crazy, I have the feeling that some people shoot nonsense just to get visibility. Max’s feeling in the car has nothing to do with performance. I wonder why certain people get so worked up saying that Max complains. He’s simply giving honest answers to the questions he receives, he’s not the one bringing up the subject. They should appreciate that he’s direct, or do we only want yes-men in this sport?”
