Oscar Piastri has stated that Max Verstappen’s potential exit from F1 due to his unhappiness with the current regulations would reflect poorly on the sport.
Verstappen has consistently voiced his displeasure with the new cars across the opening three rounds of the season, taking issue with energy management and in-race overtaking.
The four-time champion has admitted that it could hasten his departure from the sport, freeing up more time to pursue other racing activities.
However, rival Piastri is not keen to see Verstappen leave the grid so soon.
“It would be a shame if that does end up happening," Piastri told media including RacingNews365.
“Clearly the Red Bull doesn't look like the most competitive car at the moment.
“The regulations are obviously being worked on, but they've needed quite a lot of work and they're certainly more complex.
“It would be a shame for the sport to lose Max, especially at this point in his career as well.”
With Verstappen widely regarded as the most complete driver on the grid, Piastri admitted it would be a shame for the rest of the field to lose such a high benchmark to measure themselves against.
"It would be a big loss for the sport as a whole, I think for us as drivers, we want to race against the best and try and prove ourselves against the best,” he said.
“Max has shown his calibre in the last 10 years and I think especially the last five or six [years], he's been the benchmark.
For everyone, it would be a pretty big shame and obviously not a great look."
Originally published by RacingNews365 —
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