"Everyone wants to make money"- Max Verstappen against losing 'iconic tracks' like F1 Belgium GP for 'street circuits’

Max Verstappen feels the iconic circuits such as the Belgium GP need to be on the F1 calendar, instead of new street circuits. The reigning champion feels historic tracks like the Spa Francorchamps deserve to be on the calendar for their unique layout.

Despite circuits such as Spa-Francorchamps being logistically challenging due to the traffic back and forth to the circuit, the Dutchman feels they still have a place in the calendar due to their race-worthiness. Verstappen said he would not want to drive on street circuits at the cost of iconic old-school circuits like at the Belgium GP.

Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda at the French GP weekend, the Red Bull driver said:

“It's sad, first of all. (Spa) is my favourite track, and I think it is just a great track to drive. I understand that to get there compared to other tracks, it's probably a little more difficult sometimes with the traffic, but it's a very iconic track. I don't want to see myself in 2028 or whatever driving on street circuit close to the city just for the fan engagement, because you need these kind of iconic tracks on the calendar."

Verstappen is leading the driver's standings this season, leading second-placed Charles Leclerc of Ferrari by a whopping 80 points.

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New generation of F1 cars do not suit street circuits - Max Verstappen

Despite F1 wanting to expand to newer venues around the globe, Max Verstappen feels that should not be at the cost of traditional circuits. The Red Bull driver aldo said that modern F1 cars are not built to suit a street circuit.

Elaborating on his point, the Belgian-born Verstappen said:

“Of course, I understand that everyone wants to make money, but there's also a limit to that because it's important to keep these really cool circuits on the calendar instead of just driving on street circuits. I think F1 cars are not designed for (racing on street tracks) anyway.”

This season, street circuits such as Jeddah, Baku, Miami, Montreal and Monaco posed a challenge for the new generation of cars, which bounced and porpoised. However, the bouncing was less on the conventional tracks, such as the Red Bull Ring in Austria, Paul Ricard in France, Silverstone in England or the Hungaroring in Budapest, which had great overtaking and exciting on-track battles.