“It becomes like NASCAR”: Max Verstappen states that there is no easy solutions for F1’s spray issues

Reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen believes that "there will always be problems" when racing in rain, despite the FIA exploring new avenues to reduce spray in wet weather.

FIA tested the 'spray guards' in the tire test at Silverstone, but the spray was still persistent, rendering the initial design a failure. Weeks later, Verstappen addressed the problem, claiming that spray could not be tackled so easily.

"It's very difficult to solve these things. You will always suffer from it, and you will always have spray. Wheel covers on a Formula 1 car won't make a big difference," Verstappen said during the Belgian GP (via motorsport.com).

The Red Bull driver added that the situation is the same in junior racing categories, recalling his days in Formula 3 when he couldn't see anything in the midfield.

Recently, Formula Regional prodigy Dilano van't Hoff lost his life in a fatal accident at Spa Francorchamps due to a multi-car pile-up in wet conditions.

Such incidents have triggered the governing body to act faster, but Verstappen says that the spray will persist.

"Of course, certain accidents happen that have a bad outcome and then people naturally start to talk about it more. But if you look at it that way, you can't really race in the rain anymore cause there will always be problems with visibility. That would be a shame. Then it becomes like NASCAR, they don't drive in the rain either," he concluded.

Max Verstappen compared F1's reluctance to race in wet weather to NASCAR, where drivers seldom race in wet conditions on oval tracks.

The premier stock car racing series introduced wet-weather tires as recently as 2023. Races are usually delayed or postponed on a weekly basis in the American series due to inclement weather.

While the Red Bull driver is pessimistic about the issue being resolved, the FIA continues to work on an aggressive version of the spray guards for a test this autumn.

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Christian Horner claims being Max Verstappen's teammate is never easy

Horner with Perez and Max Verstappen

Red Bull boss Christian Horner commended Sergio Perez's efforts in the second RB19, claiming that it's not easy being Max Verstappen's teammate.

Horner sympathized with the Mexican driver, who recently emerged out of his midseason slump.

The team principal spoke about the resilience needed to team up with the two-time champion as he praised Perez for putting in solid efforts in his two and a half years with the team.

"Being Max's teammate is never going to be an easy year. I think Checo has actually done very well the last two and a half years to achieve and do what he's done," he explained on ESPN Unlapped Podcast.

"That takes great mental resilience because not only is he got that data that he's staring down the barrel, he's got you guys [journalists] every weekend giving him grief saying 'Why aren't you in your teammates level?'" he added.

Horner concluded that Perez had a decent season, adding that anything compared to Max Verstappen is secondary.