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F1 fans have supported Max Verstappen on his stance after he pointed out that the sport's focus is on the show rather than the race heading into the 2023 Las Vegas GP this weekend.
F1 has invested a lot of capital and exposure, and has promoted the Las Vegas GP as the "biggest event of the year". Fans and drivers, however, have not been entirely impressed by the amount of focus the sport has put on the entertainment aspect of the weekend rather than the racing part.
Speaking with the media ahead of the race, including Sportskeeda, Max Verstappen did not hold back on his criticism and said:
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“It’s 99 percent show and one percent sporting event. Not a lot of emotions to be honest. I mean I don’t like… I just want to always focus on the performance side of things, I don’t like all the things around it anyway. I know of course there are some places that you know (it is) part of it, but let’s say it’s not my interest.”
F1 fans took to social media to give their reactions, with one fan claiming that they were happy Max Verstappen spoke out, saying:
"Chuffed to see a driver actually call out the gimmicky cringe."
Here are some more reactions on X:
Max Verstappen gives his take on F1 going all out in Las Vegas
The Red Bull driver stated that he understood the appeal of Liberty Media to go all out for the Las Vegas GP and also accepted that there are two aspects of the sport - the business side and the racing side.
As per Autosport, Max Verstappen said:
"You can look at it two ways, business side or sports side, so I of course understand their side of it as well, but I'm just voicing my opinion on the performance side of things.
"We are not stakeholders, so we just go with it. I mean, they decide what they do, right? I would do the same if I was the owner, I wouldn't listen to the drivers, it's my sport, and I do with it what I want if that would be the case."
It is certainly something to consider for the sport as it is becoming a bit too gimmicky with the amount of focus that the owners are putting on the entertainment aspect of the Las Vegas GP this weekend.
On the racing front, it will be interesting to see how Max Verstappen and Red Bull perform at a fresh and probably a very low-grip surface around the streets of Las Vegas.
