Damon Hill admitted he thinks Max Verstappen is ‘not having fun’ within Formula One after extraordinary claims he could leave the sport if persistent format changes continue.
The reigning world champion launched extraordinary claims that he could stop competing in Formula One if more sprint races are added to the calendar.
Hill claimed that Verstappen’s threat to leave was ‘unusual’ but understood that he has to enjoy the competition otherwise it becomes ‘a grind’.
With 23 rounds scheduled, this season is already set to be the longest season in Formula One history but further changes could be just around the corner.
Chief executive Stefano Domenicali is keen to reduce the number of practice sessions during the season and replace them with more sprint race weekends.
Damon Hill believes Max Verstappen should leave F1 if he is no longer enjoying the sport
Verstappen (right) had previously threatened to walk away from racing over a format row
Stefano Domenicali is keen to increase the number of sprint races in the F1 calendar
Verstappen claimed that the overhaul of the traditional three-day format messes with the ‘DNA’ of the sport and makes race weekends too intense.
The 1996 World Champion Hill has encouraged Verstappen to walk away from the sport if he feels he is no longer getting any enjoyment out of racing.
‘Max’s retirement threat is very unusual,’ he said. ‘It is kind of strange to hear, isn’t it? I mean, what’s he gonna do with himself? He should stop now, really. Stop now, he’s done it.
‘You mentioned fun. I think that’s a very important point. Is he having fun, because I sometimes think he’s not having fun. I think you have to love what you’re doing, otherwise it’s a grind.
‘I think there’s an element of this with Max with him wanting not to waste his time on superfluous things that really are just invented for novelty reasons.
‘I think he’s that kind of person. So I can imagine him just saying it because he just thinks ‘well, I just come here and want to win Grand Prix. I just want one race to mean something. I don’t want to have a half-value race, what’s the point of that on your CV?’
‘People aren’t gonna go ‘how many Grand Prix have you won? Now how many Sprints have you won?’
During the weekend of the Australian Grand Prix, Verstappen gave his reasoning for wanting to leave Formula One over the forthcoming changes to the format of race weekends.
Verstappen is currently going in search of his third consecutive drivers’ championship title
The Dutchman tops the drivers’ championship after two wins from the first three races of 2023
‘I hope there won’t be too many changes, otherwise I won’t be around for too long. I am not a fan of it at all,’ Verstappen explained.
He continued: ‘When we do all that kind of stuff, the weekend becomes very intense and we already do a lot of races. I understand they want to make every day exciting.
‘But they should reduce the weekend, and only qualify and race on Saturday and Sunday and make those two days exciting.
‘We’re heading into seasons where you have at one point 24, 25 races, because that’s where we’re going to head into and if we start adding even more stuff, it’s not worth it for me anyway. I’m not enjoying that.’
