Red Bull drivers Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen during an opening ceremony for the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix. Photo / AP
Red Bull drivers Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen during an opening ceremony for the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix. Photo / AP
Max Verstappen has caused major embarrassment for Formula One on the eve of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, describing it as “99 per cent show and one per cent sporting event” and admitting he was not a fan of the decision to race in the city.
But rival Lewis Hamilton defended the move, saying F1 was a “business ultimately” and describing Vegas as an “iconic” venue.
The two world champions could not have offered more contrasting opinions on the eve of what has been billed as the biggest race in F1 history – albeit one that has split fans down the middle as regards the sport’s direction of travel.
Verstappen, who was similarly critical of the razzmatazz surrounding the new Miami race, said he felt like a “clown” standing on a raised stage being introduced to crowds in Wednesday night’s glitzy opening ceremony, where artists Kylie Minogue and John Legend performed.
The night started with a drone show, before teams were unveiled one-by-one on stages that raised up to reveal the drivers to cheering fans.
“For me you can skip these kinds of things,” the triple world champion said. “It’s not about the singers. It’s just standing up there, looking like a clown.”
The 26-year-old added that he had “zero interest” in attending Wednesday night’s welcome party.
Told that Formula One would likely take a dim view of his comments, particularly as the reigning world champion, Verstappen shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess they still make money whether I like it or not.
“So it’s not up to me. But also, you know, I’m not going to fake it. I just voice my opinion on positive things and negative things. That’s just how I am. And you know, some people like the show a bit more. I don’t like it at all. I grew up just looking at the performance side of things. And that’s how I see it as well. So for me, yes, I mean, I like to be in Vegas, but not so much for racing.”
When it was put to him that Formula One was making big money out of such races, which helped to grow the sport and in turn his pay packet, and asked whether he might therefore take a pay cut to avoid racing at such events, Verstappen was unimpressed. “I don’t think my salary grew because of the sport growing,” he answered.
Hamilton, speaking later, defended Formula One’s decision to bring a grand prix to the gambling capital of the world. The sport is promoting the Las Vegas race itself, having put up £500 million of its own money to buy land and construct a permanent pit building and prepare the track.
“I hear there’s a lot of people complaining about the direction Stefano [Domenicali, F1 chief executive] and Liberty Media [the sport’s owners] are taking, but they’re doing an amazing job,” Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, said. “The business is growing and it will grow even more once this movie [with Brad Pitt] that we’re making is out.”
Formula One cars are displayed on the outside of the Sphere prior to the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix. Photo / AP
Hamilton said he was excited to be in Las Vegas. “I’ve seen the movie Casino like 1,000 times,” he joked. “It’s very surreal to be here. Very exciting. Such an incredible place. Great energy, great buzz.”
Verstappen was not the only driver to question whether F1 was putting the show before the sport. Britain’s Lando Norris also said he did not much enjoy the showbiz side of the job, while lots of drivers questioned the wisdom of staging a night race in Las Vegas this week, and then flying all the way to Abu Dhabi – 12 time zones away – next week.
Fernando Alonso, sitting alongside Norris, admitted “No [the jet lag] is not OK, but that’s the way it is. It’s a tough sport, it’s not football.”
But the two-time world champion did accept that fulfilling extra commitments for races with such glitz and glamour attached such as Vegas was not an issue, so long as drivers get time back in other departments.
“I have to say that places like this one and with the investment that has been done on the place that we are racing, it deserves different treatment and a little bit of an extra show like what we did today or what the weekend is going to be,” Alonso said.
“I’m OK to do extra for these type of events, but maybe it could be balanced somehow and reduced maybe in our schedule somewhere else.”
Fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz echoed those schedule concerns. “We are adding races to the calendar and it’s getting to the point where everything feels a bit repetitive and overpacked… we need to reconsider how we shape up the whole weekend,” he said.
Verstappen also queried the track, which the drivers will sample for the first time – outside of their simulators – in practice on Thursday night.
“Umm, yes, not very interesting,” he said. “There’s not many corners. I mean, of course the scenery will look great driving through the Strip. But the layout itself is not the most exciting. I think you know, in F1 cars it’s a lot more fun with a lot of high-speed corners. And I think around here they don’t have that many high-speed corners.”
Again, Hamilton defended F1. “I think you’ll still see good racing here,” the 38-year-old said. “This is one of the most iconic, most unique cities they have here. All the lights. It is a big show, for sure. It’s never going to be like Silverstone. But maybe over time the people in this community will grow to love the sport as much.
“Maybe the track will be good, maybe bad. It wasn’t great on the sim. Definitely not Silverstone. But don’t knock it until you try it.”
