Max Verstappen says the current generation of Formula 1 cars are “too fast” and “too wide” for close racing.
It was back in 2017 when F1 introduced what are now the fastest cars in the sport’s history with huge downforce and fat tyres, in a massive leap away from their predecessors which dated back to 2009.
At the time it was noted the shift could have a detrimental impact on overtaking, as it took F1 back to the days of 2008 when aero parts littered the cars.
And after the recent lack of action, but for the DRS zone, in the Belgian Grand Prix, Verstappen highlighted the issue drivers face.
“The cars are super-fast nowadays, but you can’t follow another car because of that,” he said.
“I could follow Valtteri [Bottas] at let’s say 1.2 or 1.3 seconds for a couple of laps but you can’t get any closer.
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“In slow corners, you lose so much downforce that you don’t have any grip at all,” he added. “So basically all of those aspects play a role and because of all these factors you get those boring races.”
F1 is set to introduce an all-new design in 2022 which will shift the aerodynamic emphasis to under the car through increased ground effect, something that should make the issue of turbulent air less prevalent.
Also next year, a chunk of downforce generated by the floor is to be taken away amid fears the cars will put too much load on the tyres.
But even if the grip is less, Verstappen doesn’t think that will help.
“They want to make some changes for next year already, losing a bit of downforce,” he noted. “But the cars are just way too fast right now and actually too wide as well, that doesn’t help either.”