“I've had better tracks in my life" - Max Verstappen continues his criticism of the Las Vegas GP after driving in FP sessions

Reigning three-time F1 champion Max Verstappen's view on the inaugural Las Vegas GP hasn't changed after he described the event as a '99% show and 1% sporting event' prior to the weekend.

The Las Vegas GP was off to an inauspicious start as loose drain covers canceled the FP1 session after just a few minutes of green flag running. The FP2 session was extended to 90 minutes as drivers acclimatized themselves to the new layout.

It's safe to say Max Verstappen isn't a fan of the 3.8-mile (6.2 km) layout as he offered a blunt review when asked for his first impressions from the cockpit. Verstappen berated the lack of character in the street track, as he reckons he has driven on plenty of better tracks. He said to Sky Sports:

“No, no, I’ve had better tracks in my life”

“I mean, I already said that yesterday, there’s nothing new that I discovered or whatever. But yeah, we just get on with it.”

Verstappen affirmed his speculations about the street layout, as he had earlier commented that the track was "not very interesting".

Max Verstappen in the Practice session

In the extended FP2 session, the Red Bull driver clocked in the sixth-fastest time, almost nine-tenths of a second slower than Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. The Scuderia drivers topped the charts with Carlos Sainz trailing his teammate by half a second.

Fernando Alonso put in the third fastest time followed by Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez. Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas rounded out the top five finishers.

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Max Verstappen reviews Las Vegas GP track conditions

While the Red Bull driver continued his scathing criticism of the track put together in the 11th hour, he gave his overview on how the tires behaved on the low-grip asphalt.

Max Verstappen explained the soft tires only lasted over a single lap, while the medium was also not a straightforward choice for a longer stint.

“I think the soft over one lap of course is good, long run was a bit more difficult – seemed like the soft tyre was struggling quite a lot out there,” he explained.

“So we very quickly went onto the medium, but it seems like even the medium is not a straightforward tire as well on the long run. So still a bit of things that we have to look into, you know, to see how we can improve our deg on the long run."

Although the Red Bull drivers were fourth and sixth in the practice session, the Dutchman forecasts a strong race for the team on Sunday.

“I think we still look very good compared to others as well but I feel like maybe we can still do a better job. So yeah, not straightforward to pick your tires I think for the race.”

With a win in Las Vegas, Max Verstappen will equal the tally of former Red Bull driver and 4x champion Sebastian Vettel for third-most race victories.