Max Verstappen says F1 drivers should stop racing if they are not prepared for longer calendars

Max Verstappen believes F1 drivers should stop racing if they are not prepared for the increasingly intense calendars in the sport.

The number of races has been a big talking point in recent years, especially for the engineers and mechanics who are the first to arrive and last to leave each venue.

“If you’re not prepared, then it’s better to stop already, right?” Verstappen told The Guardian. “I think we’re all racers and we love racing.”

Asked about his comments last year that he couldn’t take the stress of a title race like 2021, Verstappen said: “You can’t have that drama every single year, for sure. It’s not good for me, it’s not healthy for anyone in the team – both teams.

“Of course it’s just that it’s nice to have a season like I had last year but it’s also nice to have a season like I have this year. It just would be very tough if you have that every single year, the year I had last year.

“But that also doesn’t really happen in F1, so it should be okay.”

The Red Bull driver became a two-time world champion with four events to go this year, something that looked unlikely when he retired from two of the opening three races.

However, Ferrari and Charles Leclerc’s title challenge faded as mistakes from the driver and team handed Verstappen a comfortable run-in.

Mercedes won just one race this year in their worst campaign since 2012 but appeared to come on strong in the latter stages of the season.

Verstappen expects a tighter championship battle next year and says it is “always nice to have a fight until the end”.

“I do think it will be closer,” he added. “People are understanding the cars a lot more and over time all the teams will just edge closer.

“We know over the winter that we really have to keep pushing and keep trying to find performance, and not only performance; understanding possibly the tyres even more, because the tyres will change a bit for next year.

“Let’s see how we are going to manage all of that.”