Max Verstappen believes that the inclusion of the Sprint race format will add further “chaos” to a Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix weekend that has several “unknowns”.
The Shanghai International Circuit has not hosted an F1 race in five seasons due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent travel restrictions.
However, China returns to the calendar this weekend with the added caveat that it will host the Sprint race configuration, which has been revised once more for 2024.
That means the teams will receive a single hour’s practice on a new track surface at a venue that has not been present since F1 reverted to ground effect cars in 2022.
Verstappen, who branded the decision to allocate a Sprint event to China as “not the smartest thing”, reckons those factors will combine for an unpredictable weekend.
“The Sprint weekend is always a bit more of a question mark and always a bit more chaos involved which I guess in a way is a good thing for Formula 1,” he stated.
“From my side, it’s quite unknown. We haven’t driven here with these new cars so I don’t know how we are going to perform here. But time will tell, I’m not too worried about it.
However, the Dutchman has admitted that rearranging the schedule to hold the Sprint sessions prior to qualifying for the grand prix is a move that makes more sense.
“I do think that the new sprint format is better. It gives you also more opportunities to still work on the car,” he added.
“It seems all a bit more logic I would say and I think that’s what we needed.”
Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez is also anticipating an “interesting” weekend as he prepares to embark upon a circuit that he’s not raced at in Red Bull colours.
“I think it’s going to be an interesting one,” Perez assessed. “Coming back to China after five years, coming to do a sprint event.
“I think it’s going to be a very interesting weekend overall because not having done any practice here before, the teams are coming pretty blind, so it will be interesting to see where the asphalt is, where the grip levels are. I think we will go from there.”
Ferrari has emerged as Red Bull’s closest contender in the nascent stages of the 2024 season, with the Italian marque capitalising on Verstappen retiring in Australia.
However, Verstappen rebounded in Japan to lead a comfortable Red Bull 1-2, with the Austrian outfit now 21 points ahead of Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship.
Asked whether he considered Ferrari a threat for the championship, Verstappen replied: “Well, I think overall so far they’ve been really close to us in most of the races.
“We really need to be on top of our own game to be able to win the races and I definitely think that it’s closer than last year and that, of course, actually makes it a bit harder.”
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