Verstappen wants to see a 'purer' F1 after landing first podium of the year
The Milton Keynes team was back on the podium on Sunday but their lead driver is still not happy
Despite scoring Red Bull Racing’s first podium of the season in Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen said F1 needs big changes to get it back its purest form again.
New regulation changes this season have put a heavy weight on energy recovery, with complicated rule sets and cars for drivers and fans alike to come to terms with.
Four-time world champion Verstappen narrowly missed out on victory elsewhere a week prior to the race in Montreal, having led the Nurburgring 24 Hours race before his Mercedes suffered a mechanical failure three hours from the end.
Having gained experience in other forms of racing, Verstappen said F1 needs to look at the simplicity of other series to get back to their roots again.
The Dutchman said: “This season, I’ve been racing other sorts of cars and it reminds me how pure motorsport can be and how great the racing can be. When I come back to F1, most of the drivers are the best in the world - if you gave us rental cars we’d give you a good show and we’d race each other hard and well. It has nothing to do with the rules.
“At the moment, it’s all a bit confusing. It’s not what F1 should be about, it’s all too complex. With most of the rules, the fans don’t know what we’re dealing with while driving, what’s allowed when you’re behind, or when you’re the car ahead, how much battery we’re allowed to charge. It’s such a shame we have to deal with all these things.
“For me, F1 needs to be more pure. I really hope what they’re trying to do for next year goes through because that’s the minimum they need to make it a bit more nature, a bit more ‘back to normal’ and a bit more pure.
“Give us any car we’ll give you entertainment but these races need to be more pure.”