Max Verstappen complains about F1 Las Vegas GP opening ceremony: “It’s like a clown”[F1-Gate.com]

Max Verstappen was unimpressed by the opening ceremony of the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, lamenting that he felt like a “clown” throughout the opening ceremony. To celebrate the inaugural event at the Las Vegas Strip circuit, an event was held with live music and drivers performing on a large platform to appeal to the audience.

However, Verstappen, who had previously said that F1’s visit to Las Vegas was “more for show than racing”, expressed his dissatisfaction with the ceremony. “For me, I can skip this one,” Verstappen said. “It’s not about the singers. We’re just standing there dressed like clowns.” Asked how much of it was a show and how much of a sporting event, Verstappen said the Las Vegas Grand Prix was “99 % is a show and 1% is a sporting event.” Three-time champion Verstappen admits he is reluctant to race in Sin City for the first time in his career. “Yeah, I’m looking forward to doing my best, but I’m not looking forward to this,” Verstappen said of the show. “There are always some races I look forward to a little more than others.” “To be honest, I don’t really have any feelings. I always want to focus on the performance side, but I don’t like everything around it anyway. I know that’s part of it, of course. But let’s just say I’m not interested.” However, Verstappen admitted that the sport’s continued approach to making the most of the growing interest in F1 in the American market is “understandable.” . “There are two ways to look at it, the business side and the sports side. Of course, I understand their side as well. I’m giving my opinion on the performance side.” “We’re not stakeholders, so we’ll follow which one. That’s it. It’s up to them to decide what they do.” “If I were the owner, I wouldn’t listen to the drivers. It’s my sport, so if that’s the case, I’ll do what I want,” Verstappen said, adding that the F1 celebrity ‘s status downplayed the possibility that it would cause the sport’s owners to consider changes to reduce the focus on spectacle. “I don’t care, whether I like it or not, I think they’ll still make money and it’s not for me to decide,” Verstappen said. “But I don’t try to fake it, and I always just give my opinion, whether it’s positive or negative. That’s who I am. Some people like the show a little more, but I I don’t like it at all. I grew up only watching the performance side of things. So I like being in Las Vegas, but I don’t really like the racing.” “Some people like this show a little more, but I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all. I grew up just looking at the performance side of things, so I think about it the same way. So for me, I like being in Las Vegas, but I don’t really like it as a race.” Asked whether he thought he could make a difference by speaking out, Verstappen said: “It’s not my aim to make a big difference either. But if I’m asked a question and I want to answer it, I’ll be honest. I’ll answer,” he said. “If someone wants to go in this direction and add more shows to the program, I think we need to address that. As long as everything is going well, they can say that everything is going well. Let’s see how much the fans like it too.” Verstappen also spoke about his frustrations with the track layout, explaining that this generation of F1 cars is too unwieldy on the street. “I don’t think it’s that exciting. That’s the only thing,” Verstappen pointed out. “For me, I already think street circuits aren’t that exciting, especially these new cars, they’re too heavy.” “The grip is so low that they’re useless. The scenery will look great when you drive down the strip, though.” , the layout itself is not that exciting. Driving an F1 car is more fun when there are a lot of high-speed corners, but there aren’t many high-speed corners around here.”