Max Verstappen’s criticism of the Madring: What Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris have to say

After the final practice session, one thing is clear to Max Verstappen: the new Madring doesn’t offer any overtaking opportunities. The four-time champion emphasised this after the qualifying session, which he finished in third place: “Let’s assume the best-case scenario, where I’m faster. Even then, there are no corners where you can overtake. So even if the car is faster, I’ll still have to find a way to get past the others.”

However, the 71-time Grand Prix winner also had some kind words to say, emphasising: “I like the grip the track offers. They’ve done a great job with the tarmac, even if there are a few too many bumps in places, considering how new the circuit is.” At the same time, he emphasised: “But as I said, you can’t overtake in the corners. They need to realise that it’s never a good thing to have to turn in at the braking zones, because that doesn’t allow for overtaking manoeuvres. So the track layout could be better.”

His rivals agree. Lando Norris, for example, explained: “It’s certainly true that, in my opinion, some things could be improved looking ahead to the future, particularly when it comes to overtaking opportunities.”

And championship leader Kimi Antonelli emphasised: “Yes, I also think it’s going to be very difficult to get past an opponent. In practice, I spent two laps behind a Williams and tried desperately to get past. But it was just really difficult, partly because tyre wear is so high. And when you’re chasing an opponent, you start to slide around more. That makes life even harder for you. The only thing you can do is put so much pressure on an opponent that they make a mistake. Or you try to make sure they wear out their tyres so much that you can gain an advantage with your strategy. But if you’ve got an opponent in front of you who’s driving at a similar pace, then it gets really tricky.”

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