Verstappen hits out at F1's 'extremely dangerous' new rule

Jay Winter
Thursday 9 November 2023 09:57

Red Bull's Max Verstappen has voiced strong concerns over Formula 1's recent pit lane regulations during qualifying, insisting the changes are making sessions "extremely dangerous".

The new pit lane rules, introduced for the start of the current season, dictate that drivers are not allowed to stop unnecessarily in the fast lane of the pit lane.

During the Sprint Shootout and qualifying, drivers have the option to create a gap between the pit exit lights and the SC2 line.

However, this must be done while driving as far to the left as possible to allow other drivers to pass them on the right side of the pit exit road, as outlined by the FIA in Article 33.4 of the F1 Sporting Regulations.

Verstappen's concerns primarily revolve around the safety implications of these new regulations.

"It was absolutely terrible," said the Dutchman.

"On this track, you have quite a long pit exit, and there are some walls.

"But on some other tracks, if we implement this, you're driving very slowly onto a straight where people are passing with 300+ [km/h]. And you're maybe driving at 15, 20 to make a gap, which is extremely dangerous."

The Red Bull driver expressed his view that the new rules were counterproductive.

He believes the new rules resulted in cars having to slow down drastically, endangering both drivers on the track and the individuals involved in the sport.

"For me, this doesn't work at all," Verstappen added.

"It just creates even more trouble. I mean, look at what was happening [in qualifying] – people going on the grass, including myself, to try and pass cars.

"It's just a mess every single qualifying, you have like six to eight cars getting noted for driving too slow with the minimum time. I don't know what we're trying to achieve."

Mad Max

Verstappen concluded with a note of frustration.

"It's just a mess every single qualifying," he said.

"You have like six to eight cars getting noted for driving too slow with the minimum time. I don't know what we're trying to achieve."

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