Verstappen: Kimi Antonelli simply needs time.

      On Thursday in Monza Max Verstappen spoke about his chances of winning this weekend, the proposed changes to the weekend format and the criticism aimed at Kimi Antonelli…

      Max Verstappen: "In Zandvoort we were far from winning. Given the size of the gap to McLaren, we need a fair bit of luck to win a race this year. However, in that respect everyone is roughly in the same position — everyone is behind McLaren, although with the right circumstances anyone can win.

      You can see how Formula 1 is gradually changing. The organizers are making more money. And I understand why they run Saturday sprints and propose other similar ideas. I understand that fans find it more interesting to watch the on-track battle rather than practice. But for us, practice is still very important.

      But Formula 1 has existed since the 1950s. I understand that the sport evolves and all that. But you shouldn't get carried away. From my point of view, even the sprint race is madness. You all know what I think about sprint races. Now there's talk about shortening the length of Grands Prix. But I think the race length is quite acceptable. An hour and a half, sometimes closer to two. That happens in other sports too. Sometimes a game is exciting, sometimes it's completely boring and makes you want to fall asleep. That's the essence of sport: you can't artificially make it interesting all the time. If it's always interesting, that's boring too.

      Mistakes by Kimi Antonelli? What he's going through now is normal. The problem is that some people focus on the mistakes more than necessary. Mistakes in the first season are completely normal.

      Could it have been better? Of course. But I know how talented he is. I can see it. He just needs to be given the chance to adapt. Everyone needs to be patient, because starting a career in a top team isn't easy. I think he'll be fine. He just needs a little more time."