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Ahead of the third race of the 2024 F1 calendar, Max Verstappen has found himself at the receiving end of verdicts as fans aimed at his casual GP approach.
The 58-lap Australian Grand Prix is around the corner, and the lights will go off on Sunday, March 24, at 15:00 Track Time. Reigning world champion Max Verstappen's streak of dominance hasn't seen a disruptor since Carlos Sainz's victory at the 2023 Singapore GP.
Despite both the Red Bull drivers taming the same RB20s, Verstappen's margin of victory to that of teammate Sergio Perez stood at an astonishing +22.457 seconds at the season-opener Bahrain GP and +13.643 seconds at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
As the Dutchman is now eyeing another top spot at the 14-turn Albert Park Circuit, an excerpt from his sim racing stint has caught the attention of F1 fans.
During his simulator run, another Twitch streamer expressed his intrigue about Max Verstappen's trip to Australia, asking, "Are you going to Australia Max?" (via X):
The #1 RB20 driver casually replied:
"Yeah, maybe tomorrow."
Verstappen's nonchalant take to the question caught many fans off guard, following which a mixed bag of opinions poured in.
One fan took a rather hysterical jibe at the 26-year-old's response, writing:
"His side hustle is collecting the gp trophies 😔😔"
Here are a few reactions of the fans who shared the same feeling:
A couple of fans drew parallels with Kimi Raikkonen, who's renowned for his straightforward attitude and treating F1 like just another hobby. They wrote:
Max Verstappen's endless dominance attracts “We don’t want to be that sport” scrutiny from the Formula E CEO
2021 was arguably the last year where neck-to-neck contention among drivers was evident as Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen fought a close battle for the championship. However, things changed in the successive seasons.
In 2022, the Red Bulls claimed 17 triumphs, from which Verstappen raked in 15 victories that season. Still, rival teams like Ferrari and Mercedes, too, tasted the victory. Charles Leclerc collected three wins, followed by his teammate Carlos Sainz with one victory.
George Russell secured his first F1 win for the Silver Arrows, marking his team's maiden victory that season. The Red Bulls secured 21 wins from 22 races in the 2023 season, while Verstappen achieved 19 wins, becoming the first F1 driver to achieve this feat in a season.
However, the supremacy was scrutinized by the Formula E CEO, Jeff Dods, who claimed it to be robbing the competitive essence of the sport. During a conversation with RacingNews365, Dods said:
“It’s done very deliberately. We know that fans love competition and if that competitiveness disappears, so does the fan base, so we are very fixated on keeping the competitive nature high."
The CEO added:
“He [Max Verstappen] has won two out of two. And it seems the question now is: can he win all 24 races?"
“We don’t want to be that sport.”
