F1 News: Max Verstappen Hits Out At Las Vegas Grand Prix Opening Ceremony

Max Verstappen isn't into all of this.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix hosted a grand opening ceremony on Wednesday night, where the drivers were introduced to the fans. However, Max Verstappen, who had earlier stated that he was there for the race and not for the show, seemed quite cross with the opening event. 

With Formula 1 returning to the Strip after four decades, the owners of the sport don't intend to leave even a single leaf unturned. Apart from lights that lit the whole place up, Wednesday's show included performances from artists like Kylie Minogue, Will.i.am, and Thirty Seconds to Mars.

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Formula 1 drivers meanwhile, were introduced to a spectacular light show. After all, they had to be given a Vegas-style welcome. But the lavish spectacle failed to impress Verstappen. He said:

“For me, you can skip this.

“We are just standing up there, looking like a clown. I mean, yeah…”

When asked if he would take up the dislike with the bosses of Formula 1, he said, as per ESPN:

“I don’t know, I guess they still make money if I like it or not, so it’s not up to me!

“But I’m also not going to fake it, I just always voice my opinion on positive things and negative things. That’s just how I am.

“Some people like the show a bit more, I don’t like it at all. I grew up just looking at the performance side of things and that’s how I see it as well. So for me, I like to be in Vegas, but not so much for racing.

“We are not a stakeholder, so we just go with it. They decide what they do, right?

“I would do the same if I was the owner, I wouldn’t listen to the drivers. It’s my sport, I would do with it what I want if that would be the case.”

Not only that, Verstappen does not seem to find the layout of the track appealing either. Though it is a 17-corner track with a nearly 2km long straight down the Strip, Verstappen is unsure if the street race would produce enough excitement. He added:

“There’s not many corners to be honest… I don’t know.

“It also will depend a bit probably on how grippy it is. Doesn’t look like it has a lot of grip, but we’ll go with the flow.

“I don’t think it’s that exciting, that’s the only thing. I think already for me a street circuit is not that exciting, especially with these new cars, they are just too heavy.

“When you have low grip that doesn’t help. The scenery will look great, driving through the Strip, but the layout itself is not the most exciting.

“Driving an F1 car is a lot more fun with a lot of high-speed corners, but around here there is not many high-speed corners.”