Max Verstappen has accused Formula 1 bosses of treating him and his fellow drivers like clowns at the opening ceremony for the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Drivers were unveiled on giant podiums amid a dramatic light show and live music but the three-time world champion was unimpressed ahead of what is the penultimate race of the 2023 season.
Verstappen dismissed the late-night Saturday race – a shift from the traditional Sunday grand prix slot – as “99 per cent show and 1 per cent sporting event”.
F1 owners Liberty Media have pumped in excess of £400million to pull off a first race in Vegas for over 40 years, a move which has left the current dominant force of the sport unimpressed.
He said: “For me, you can skip all these things. It’s not about the singer, it’s just standing up there, you look like a clown.
“I’m not going to fake it. I just always voiced my opinion in positive things and negative things. And that’s just how I am. And some people like a 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.”
F1 bosses have put a massive publicity push behind what is the third US race on the 2023 calendar and certainly the most eye-catching, with Vegas’ iconic and heavily-lit Strip shutting down for the racing.
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Verstappen is the red-hot favourite to come away with what would be an 18th victory of the most dominant season in F1 history, although Red Bull admitted there was an element of uncertainty over how their tyres might perform in the cooler desert night temperatures of 10 to 12 degrees.
The 26-year-old has made it clear that he is very much in Sin City for the racing alone.
He said: “I just like to always focus on the performance side of things. I don’t like all the things around it, anyway. I know of course in some places they are part of it, but let’s say it’s not in my interest.
“I’m looking forward to try to do the best I can but I’m not looking forward to this [the glitz and glamour surrounding the race].”
The circuit for this weekend’s race is 3.8miles long and boasts 17 corners, with a top speed of 212mph making it the quickest on the calendar after Monza.
Despite that, Verstappen said he was unimpressed by the layout.
He said of the circuit: “Yeah, not very interesting. It’s just not many corners to be honest. I don’t know. I mean it also will depend probably a lot 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.
“But naturally already for me a street circuit is not very exciting, especially with these new cars. They’re just too heavy and especially also when you have low grip, that doesn’t help.
“Of course, it will be great driving through the Strip but then the layout itself is not the most exciting I think. An F1 car is a lot more fun with a lot of high-speed corners.”