Verstappen slams new sprint format: 'Scrap the whole thing'

If Formula 1 is looking for advocates for its new sprint format, it won't be able to rely on the championship leader.

"Scrap the whole thing," Max Verstappen said following Saturday's remodeled sprint race at Baku City Circuit. "I think it's just important to go back to what we had and make sure that every team can fight for a win. That's what we have to try and aim for. (Rather than) implement this kind of artificial excitement.

"I got bored during today's qualifying. I like to have one particular qualifying where you put everything in it."

This year, Saturday sprints are separated into two stand-alone events that have no bearing on Sunday's race. It begins with a sprint shootout to determine the grid layout for the sprint race, which acts as a shortened grand prix in which pit stops aren't mandatory. The sprint race rewards the top eight finishers with points in the championship standings: eight points for the winner tiered down to one point for eighth place.

Verstappen placed third in Saturday's sprint race after also qualifying third in the shootout, therefore earning six points. He'll start second in Sunday's race after going second-fastest in Friday's qualifying to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

The Dutch reigning champ sustained damage to his sidepod in the opening lap of the sprint while making contact on the first corners with Mercedes' George Russell.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix is the first of six sprint events on the 2023 F1 calendar. The others will be run in Austria, Belgium, Qatar, the United States (Circuit of the Americas), and Brazil.

Last year, the Saturday sprint race awarded points on top of deciding the grid for Sunday's grand prix. There were three sprint races in 2022 - in Emilia Romagna, Austria, and Brazil.