Max Verstappen says the fallout from his blunt comments about Formula 1’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix taught him to be more cautious with what he says.
F1 pushed hard to build hype around its debut at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit in 2023, but Verstappen was unmoved and made his dissatisfaction vocal.
The Dutchman dismissed the layout as “not very interesting” and described his early running as “no fun”, while he also branded the event “99 per cent show”.
His stance softened after he won that inaugural race, expressing that it was “a lot of fun”, and he later wrapped up his fourth title at the same venue in 2024.
But when asked ahead of this year’s event whether his view has since shifted two years on from such comments, Verstappen chose not to revisit the topic.
“I feel good,” he told media including Motorsport Week. “The food is great, I had a good dinner last night. The hotel is great.
“I also learned to not always speak too much – because first of all, it’s better for myself, and less headlines. So that’s probably safer for everyone.
“But I have a good time. I’ve been here many times even before F1, and I’ve always enjoyed it.”
Williams driver Carlos Sainz believes the race has matured since its headline-heavy first outing, citing that a more measured promotional approach has helped.
“It’s a venue that I think got a lot of criticism on the first year,” he acknowledged.
“I think we tried too hard in the first year but second and third year I feel a lot more comfortable coming here and I think it’s a lot better.
“Hopefully it becomes one of the F1 classics because it’s a great racetrack to go racing.
“Not so much for qualifying, it’s nothing special but it produces good racing which in the end is all we need.”
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