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F1 World Champion Max Verstappen has issued an ultimatum to the sport’s bosses; “Hold on or I’m out” amid rumors of significant rule changes. FOLLOW LIVE.
In a post-qualifying tirade after putting his Red Bull on pole for the Australian Grand Prix, Verstappen voiced his displeasure with the sprint format amid other proposed format changes.
Round four in Azerbaijan is set to host the first of six sprint events on this year’s F1 calendar and discussions have been held on tweaking the format to introduce a second qualifying session instead of FP2.
As he prepared to chase his first Australian Grand Prix win, Verstappen scrapped the proposed changes, saying race weekends had already been intense enough.
The Dutch star suggested Formula 1 would be better off lumping the weekend together and only racing on Saturdays and Sundays.
“I’m not a fan of it at all,” said Verstappen.
“But I also think if we do all these things the weekend will be even more intense and we already have so many races.
“So I don’t think that’s the right way. Of course I understand that basically they want to have exciting every day, but then I think maybe it’s better to just shorten the weekend and only race on Saturday and Sunday and make those two days exciting.
“We’re heading towards seasons where there’s going to be 24/25 races at some point because that’s where we’re going to go and then when we start adding more stuff it’s not worth it to me anyway. I don’t enjoy that.”
Verstappen lamented the sprint format, saying it wasn’t part of the sport’s DNA.
“For me, a sprint race is just about survival, not racing,” said Verstappen.
“For me there is nothing to risk when you have a fast car. I prefer to keep my car alive and make sure you have a good race car for Sunday.
“And even if you change the format, I don’t think it’s in Formula 1’s DNA to do that kind of sprint racing.
“Formula 1 is about getting the best out of qualifying and then having a fantastic Sunday with good long race distances.
“It’s the DNA of the sport and I don’t understand or I don’t know why we should change that because I think the action was good.”
Verstappen said the solution to delivering a more exciting racing product is to let more teams compete for race wins rather than making format changes.
“How you get even more action lies in bringing the cars closer together and enabling more teams to fight for victory,” said Verstappen.
“And of course I think the show is going to be great. When we have six or seven teams fighting for victory, it’s crazy. Then you really don’t need to change anything.”
23:28 MERCEDES FAMOUS OF THEIR OWN SUCCESS
George Russell said his Mercedes car is the “best” he’s driven in and the team drew “huge” confidence from qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix, regardless of what happens in the race.
The Briton starts on Sunday in Melbourne alongside the dominant Red Bull champion Max Verstappen from the front row, his team-mate Lewis Hamilton is third.
Their efforts to pass Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and both Ferraris raised hopes that they could make it onto the podium.
Team boss Toto Wolff said this week Mercedes had made “promising” progress since the first two grands prix of the season and Russell said he couldn’t be happier.
“I think we’re learning more about this car, I don’t think it’s where we want it to be, but it’s evolved, just for setup, from Bahrain to Jeddah to here,” he said.
“Of course the tires have played a big part this weekend… but only by being two and a half tenths off (Verstappen) when we were a second on other occasions.”
10:45 CAN PEREZ RECOVER?
A dejected Sergio Perez said he hopes Red Bull can fix the issue that ruined his Australian Grand Prix qualifying so he can “minimize the damage” in the race.
The Mexican, who won in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago, had a terrible day in Melbourne as he struggled with grip and balance.
He was 20 minutes late for third practice as mechanics were working on his car, but left the track four times when he finally got on track.
The problem persisted into qualifying when on his first lap he blocked at Turn 3 and crashed into the gravel, beaching the car which had to be removed by a crane.
That means he’ll be last to start on Sunday, with a mountain to climb to get into the points at a track where overtaking isn’t easy.
He told reporters the problem appears to be the brake balance, which he says has been resolved.
“I hope we can fix the technical problem for tomorrow, otherwise it will be really difficult to do a race like this,” he said.
“We’re confident that together as a team we’ll make it through because it’s very important that we do that.
“This morning we had the problem. We thought we fixed it,” he added. “So I was pretty confident in that part, but that wasn’t the case when I touched the brakes at Turn 3 (in qualifying).”
10AM MAX FACTOR: CAN ANYONE STOP VERSTAPEN BLITZ?
First pole position in Melbourne? Check over.
First Australian Grand Prix win? Possibly.
Two of our pundits are expecting a win for Red Bull world champion Max Verstappen on Sunday, a year after he was forced out of the race won by Charles Leclerc.
It promises to be a race full of stories.
Can one of the pre-race favorites Sergio Perez wreak havoc from the back of the grid?
Could George Russell and Lewis Hamilton work together to dethrone Verstappen?
Can Oscar Piastri avoid starting 16th and finish in the points?
All of these questions will be answered in an epic day of racing.
Scroll down to see who our experts tipped off the win and follow Sunday’s action live here.
EXPERT PREDICTIONS
REBECCA WILLIAMS
Herald Sun
1. Max Verstappen
2. Fernando Alonso
3. George Russel
Piastr finishes … 15
Verstappen proved in qualifying that he is the best. He can fend off all challengers. Alonso has looked better than the two Mercedes this season and can overtake Russell for second place. Unfortunately, I can’t imagine Piastri moving far up the grid.
KALLUM DICK
Sunday messenger Sun
1. Fernando Alonso
2. Max Verstappen
3. George Russel
Piastr finishes… 14th
Verstappen is the big favorite but his Red Bull has been nervous all Saturday. Alonso looked completely composed. The Spaniard can win. Piastri will fight to move up the grid.
MARK SKAIFE
Fox Sports commentator
1. Verstappen
2. Russel
3. Alonso
Piastr finishes… outside the top 10
If Piastri finishes in the top 10, that would be a great result.
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Originally posted as Australian F1 Grand Prix 2023, Start Time, Live, Results, Grid, Oscar Piastri