Prost Expresses His Admiration For Verstappen: 'I Like Him Very Much'

Wednesday, 31 January 2024 at 19:00

Four-time Formula 1 World Champion Alain Prost complemented Max Verstappen in a recent interview, suggesting he likes the Dutchman.

Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen is known as one of the most straightforward drivers on the grid when it comes to answering questions from the media.

The Dutchman is not afraid to express his opinion without questioning what F1 or his team will think about it and quite often openly criticizes things he does not like. In an interview with Motor Sport Magazine, Alain Prost suggested that this is precisely what he likes about the 26-year-old.

"For me, it’s good to see a driver like him. I was very pleased to listen to what he also said about not liking the sprint races. At least he says what he thinks and is not afraid of the political game. I like that."

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Sprint Races have recently been introduced to the F1 calendar to make the sport more interesting for F1 fans. However, the Dutchman slammed the new format saying he does not get any joy out of winning a sprint race.

To be fair to Verstappen, if he doesn't like something, he has a reason and can elaborate on it. When it came to Sprint races, he explained the format is faulty because it only spoils the first part of the Sunday race for him.

He also added that there are not many points to fight for so that also detracts from it. In 2023, the triple World Champion also expressed his disapproval of the way the Las Vegas Grand Prix was held.

Verstappen suggested firstly that F1 cars are not built for street circuits and that drivers cannot extract the full potential of their cars on tracks like the Las Vegas Strip Circut.

Secondly, he disagreed with how F1 focuses on the show around the race rather than focusing on the race itself, which is what the sport of Formula 1 is about. Prost continued:

"I like him very much because he’s a little bit different in the way he thinks and speaks. Even in Las Vegas, he was focused on racing and winning. People can like him or not, but at least you must recognise you are not obliged to have the same approach."