Max Verstappen has suggested a ‘straightforward’ race weekend change that F1 chiefs would hate

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Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen loves Formula 1, but maybe not as much as some of his rivals on the grid.

Max Verstappen hasn’t hidden his desire to take part in other racing series outside of Formula 1 during his career.

Team principal Laurent Mekies approved of Verstappen racing in GT3 at the Nordschleife earlier this year, achieving his first victory in that class after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Formula 1 chiefs won’t want to see Verstappen go anywhere any time soon, as he attempts to keep his championship hopes alive at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Red Bull would be lost without him, and now, Verstappen and his teammate Yuki Tsunoda have described the changes they would make to the format of a Formula 1 race weekend if they were in charge of the sport.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Max Verstappen would love F1 to move to a two-day race weekend and scrap Sprint Races

Verstappen was asked on the Securing the Win Podcast what changes he would make to Formula 1 if he were in charge of the sport.

The four-time world champion was quick off the mark and said: “Definitely a lot less races, only the good tracks, not too many street circuits.

“Two-day race weekends. An even more straightforward calendar with the flying.

“So, yeah, quite a few changes. No sprints, just a main race, because there’s more emotion in it.

“One practice, a qualifying in a race.”

Journalist Chris Medland, who was interviewing Verstappen, asked: “Just one practice?”

Verstappen replied: “Yeah, why not? I’ve driven it [a Formula 1 car] already a lot. So that’s enough for the weekend.”

Tsunoda was also asked about his potential rule changes and admitted he would like a return to one-lap qualifying.

“I would say for the race weekend,” Tsunoda said. “I would do a completely new layout.

“You have only one free practice and then straight into qualifying, and then the race.

“So three sessions, that’s it. And qualifying will be one lap each, for every driver on the track.

“So on the track, you go, the driver finishes, and a different driver goes.

“But if it comes to the track evolution difference, that’s why it won’t be fair, probably.”

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda’s life outside F1 from height to parents

Max Verstappen’s two-day race weekend idea already has support from James Vowles

Formula One Group CEO Stefano Domenicali has spoken about expanding F1’s Sprint calendar, which would go against Verstappen’s wishes.

The Sprint Race format does include only one practice session as Verstappen suggested, but the additional qualifying and race matters very little to the 28-year-old.

The balance F1 needs to find is keeping fans engaged for as long as possible. Casual viewers won’t watch practice, but are far more likely to tune in for a Sprint Race on a Saturday before qualifying.

Williams team principal James Vowles has previously supported the idea of a two-day race weekend.

He said, via Autosport, “I think what we see on sprint race weekends is the numbers go up, the audiences go up, so it is generally a hit.

“I’m more someone who would like to debate whether we go to two-day weekends, Saturday, Sunday.

“I’d just reduce the amount of free practice and make it a spectacle, but by doing that, and giving back 24 days to the teams, actually, you could do a few more race weekends if you wanted.”

It’s a conundrum that F1 will need to wrestle with, balancing the happiness of their drivers with the demands coming from the general public.

Verstappen has previously warned about burnout, with the upcoming triple header by far the most gruelling part of the season for team members travelling from Las Vegas to Qatar to Abu Dhabi in the space of 16 days.