Verstappen: "Losing traditional tracks is a shame"

With several traditional venues set to lose their place on the F1 calendar, reigning world champion Max Verstappen claimed that while he can understand the decision to update the calendar, he thinks that it is a shame to lose some of the traditional races.

The Dutchman qualified fifth for last Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, but he moved up the grid thank to a three-place grid penalty for Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen maintained his starting position at the start, and spent the majority on the race behind the trio of Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri.

However, Red Bull came up with an ambitious strategy that saw Verstappen play the long game. With fifth-place Hamilton having rejoined the track almost 40 seconds behind the race leader following his last pit stop, Verstappen stayed out on the Monte Carlo track until the penultimate lap.

The Dutchman led the race from Norris and Leclerc, and was waiting for a potential red flag period which would have handed him the race victory. However, there was no interruption in the closing stages of the race, and the four-time F1 champion was forced to complete his second and last tyre service on Lap 77, ending the race in fourth place.

The Monaco round succeeded the first European race in Imola where Verstappen put in a surprising performance to dominate proceedings. Although the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix has been a huge success since its return to the calendar in 2021, the Imola F1 round is posed to lose its place on the schedule.

The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is a favourite among drivers and fans alike due to its technical, challenging layout, and the town of Imola has provided a great atmosphere over the past years.

With the future of not only Imola, but also Barcelona and Zandvoort hanging in the balance, reigning world champion Verstappen claimed that while he can understand the decision to update the calendar, he thinks that it is a shame to lose some of the traditional races.

"I don’t know. I mean, I love driving here, but at the end of the day, you're still bound to what you get, right, with your car. Now I think the last few years our car has always been working really well here.

"Of course, before I got [to Imola], I didn’t really have a lot of hope that we could actually win a race here. But then I think from [qualifying] onwards, the car was more competitive over one lap and luckily also [on Sunday]. So, yeah. I definitely enjoy driving here, but at the same time, the car has to work as well, you know, to be able to do this.

"Losing these kind of tracks is a shame. I get it from F1’s side of things, of course — the new tracks that we are going to. So, yeah, you have to see it from a sportive side and a financial side, right? If you want to grow the business and make it more popular, I get it.

"For me, of course, personally, when I just speak about the enjoyment of driving, it’s these kind of tracks that made me fall in love with racing in general — in go-karting even, because you have the same thing in karting where some tracks are more special than others."