Verstappen: Why do we need to try and invent something?

The triple F1 Champion was speaking to the media on Thursday in Mexico city, and was asked about the disqualifications of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc from the results of the United States Grand Prix last week, after their cars failed post-race FIA checks.

Hamilton insisted many more cars would've been found incompliant had they been checked, but the FIA just randomly choose a few cars to check.

But Verstappen took the chance of talking about the disqualification matter to take another swing at Sprint weekends.

He said: "I think we should just get rid of the sprint weekend and then everyone can just set up their cars normally. Because it wouldn't have happened if we would have had a normal race weekend.

"I think these things only happened really when you have a sprint weekend where everything is so rushed in between FP1 and qualifying that you think 'we might be okay'. I mean from our side, I think we went a bit too conservative. But that's of course still better than then the other way," he explained.

Verstappen was then presented with reports that F1 might be looking to revise the Sprint format once again, but that just doesn't make sense to the Dutchman.

"Why do we need to try and invent something?" he questioned. "I think our product works if you just make sure that the cars are competitive, and they will stay the same for a long time.

"Why are we always inventing new things? It almost sounds out of craziness that we need to come up with something. Just leave it the same," he demanded.

"I mean, in football, they don't change the rules or in other sports. It's been like that for 100 years. Why do we suddenly need to come up with other things to try and make it entertaining? I think if you have a good race on your hands with cars being close to each other, then you don't need to sprint format or weekend," he maintained.

Asked if having a stand-alone Sprint Championship would interest him, Verstappen said: "It is the same now. I mean, you cross the line, it's alright. Well, tomorrow is the race.

"You know, the main one, that's how it goes, there is no satisfaction to win a sprint for me," the Red Bull driver declared, adding: "Honestly, for me, they do what they want with the sprint format, because I find it really not interesting."

Verstappen comes to Mexico this weekend chasing his 51st F1 career win which, should he achieve, puts him level on number of wins with four-time F1 Champion Alain Prost.

(

Reporting by Agnes Carlier, Writing by Jad Mallak

)