F1 champion Max Verstappen hits out at 'boring' sprint races

Verstappen heeft drukke agenda na seizoen: eerst naar VK, dan naar Oezbekistan — Photo: © IMAGO

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen hits out at 'boring' F1 sprint races

Max Verstappen is the record holder when it comes to sprint race wins

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 13 January 2026 19:52

Four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen has slammed 'unnecessary' F1 sprint races, which he believes are 'boring'.

Verstappen is the all-time record holder when it comes to sprint race wins, having claimed 13 of the 24 victories since they were introduced in 2021.

The Dutchman gained 32 points from sprint races in 2025, more than any other driver, and that helped him to finish just two points behind champion Lando Norris in the drivers' championship.

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But despite this, Verstappen is not a fan of the shorter races, which are one-third of the full grand prix distance and take place on the Saturday of a grand prix weekend.

"Most of these unnecessary appearances on Saturday were also rather boring," Verstappen said to Blick. "But even worse, they disrupt the normal schedule for our real race on Sunday.

"And most fans forget something: this constant activity is especially stressful for the mechanics. Most teams are already working in two shifts."

F1 sprint races

There were six sprint races in 2025, with Verstappen winning two, Norris two, and Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri claiming one sprint win each.

In 2026, there are also set to be six, but F1 have shaken up the events at which the sprint races will appear.

China and Miami will be sprint weekends as they have been for the last few years, while Silverstone is holding its first sprint race since the 2021 season.

On top of this, Montreal, Zandvoort and Singapore are all holding sprint races for the first time, with usual candidates Qatar and Brazil reverting back to standard race weekends in 2026.

There seems to be a conscious effort to get the sprint events done and dusted a little earlier in the season in 2026 too, with October hosting the final one in the schedule.

That is in stark comparison to 2025, when three of the six sprint weekends were held during the last six races of the year.

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