Verstappen stands alone as F1 paddock turns against his car criticism

After the Chinese Grand Prix, Verstappen left no room for doubt: these rules are still terrible. While the tide in the paddock seems to be turning somewhat and there’s growing optimism about the actual racing on Sundays, Verstappen remains relentless in his criticism of the new F1 cars.

According to Verstappen, the racing is still horrible, and anyone who enjoys this kind of racing understands nothing about racing. He says it’s a joke, the way Formula 1 is being raced now. If no adjustments are made, it could ruin the sport. Verstappen believes small tweaks are possible in the short term, but the cars are fundamentally broken for good racing.

In the early weeks of the Formula 1 season, Verstappen was far from alone. Several drivers spoke negatively about the new cars and especially about qualifying. Mistakes would actually be rewarded because you then save more energy for the straights. According to the drivers, everything flew in the face of what they believe racing should be.

In China, however, it’s clear that most drivers and teams have been instructed to speak more positively about the sport. Being constantly negative makes F1 as a whole less appealing to fans, which of course should be avoided. Verstappen, however, doesn’t care and continues to voice his opinion.

The Dutchman is increasingly being seen as that one guy standing in the middle of the desert shouting. Verstappen is more and more on his own. Toto Wolff even felt sorry for Verstappen. The Austrian couldn’t resist taking a jab at Red Bull Racing.

According to Wolff, it was Red Bull’s terrible car that meant Verstappen wasn’t enjoying racing. Jonathan Wheatley expressed similar sentiments. He too said he’d seen a fun race on Sunday with plenty of overtakes. The question, however, is whether the number of overtakes corresponds to how enjoyable the sport is perceived to be. If you listen to F1 leadership, it seems so.

Stefano Domenicali is delighted with the races so far. The CEO of Formula 1 agreed with Toto Wolff that fans are ecstatic about the new regulations. Both stated that all data shows fans are crazy about the new rules, an argument used to counter the criticism from Verstappen and some of his colleagues.

It’s not known which data they are citing. Online, there are also many negative comments about the current Formula 1. Plenty of people side with Verstappen’s view that F1 is fundamentally broken. That there’s nothing left of flat-out, gutsy racing. It’s all about management now.

The coming period will say a lot about the future of Formula 1. If the sport continues on its current path and increasingly becomes about management, there’s a good chance the sport will lose Verstappen over time. Winning car or not, this is not something Verstappen takes pleasure in.