Max Verstappen says it’s strange to be encountering an extended break so early into the 2023 Formula 1 season.
Following the third flyaway round of the year in Australia, the series is presently in the midst of a four-week interval before the campaign resumes in Azerbaijan.
The break was enforced by the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix for the fourth consecutive year, with the race in Shanghai originally scheduled to be held bang in the middle of the current gap.
While Verstappen admits it’s a strange phenomenon to have a break away from racing so early into a year, the Dutchman has stated he is also appreciative after his recent bout of illness.
The reigning World Champion was absent from media duties in Saudi Arabia after recovering from a stomach virus and admitted he still wasn’t 100% in Australia, despite comfortably winning the race.
“Well a couple of weeks ago I would say that I was not looking forward to it, but then I got really ill and have just been struggling a bit since that time, especially the last race out,” issued Verstappen, winner of two of the opening three races in 2023.
“So for me now these three weeks are just about getting back to full fitness, getting a full program in, so in a way it’s probably nice now.
“But normally if you just feel well I think I would also prefer to keep racing, yeah. That’s nothing to do with looking into the car, trying to make it faster, I think that’s a natural process, but it’s a bit weird to have three weeks off, especially that early on in the season.”
F1’s return during the last weekend of April for the seventh running of a World Championship event in Azerbaijan will commence a run of 10 races in only 14 weeks up to the summer break.
After his victory last time out in Melbourne, Verstappen upholds a 15-point lead in the Drivers’ standings over Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.
Although Red Bull has been the dominant class of the field in the early stages of 2023, the Baku City Circuit will hold the honour of hosting the first sprint race weekend of the year.
With only one practice session attributed to the drivers and teams ahead of qualifying during such revised weekends, it will represent an opportunity for Red Bull’s rivals to spring a surprise.
Despite the upgraded RB18 appearing an unbeatable force in the second half of last season, the final sprint weekend of 2022 saw Red Bull get caught out with a wrongful set-up choice, paving the way for Mercedes to score a surprise 1-2 victory in Sao Paulo.
Verstappen may be the most successful driver in the short history of the sprint format, but the two-time title winner has been highly critical of the structure, arguing that it purely represents a challenge of survival rather than actually promoting an increased racing spectacle.
The Dutchman’s team boss at Red Bull, Christian Horner, has voiced similar concerns in regard to the first of six sprint races in 2023 being held on the tight streets of Baku, where accidents are inevitable.
With a tight budget cap in place, Horner is particularly concerned about the consequential impact any potential major crash could have on a team’s development budget later in the year.
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