Sky Sports F1 legend claps back over 'exciting' way to spice up the sport

Martin Brundle has clapped back at Jeremy Clarkson’s suggestion on how to spice up Formula 1, defending the sport from claims that it is boring.

Following a Japanese Grand Prix where Max Verstappen won from pole position and there were only 15 overtakes after the first lap, the television personality suggested that to make F1 exciting, the sport should only race at tracks where they can overtake.

"I’ve had an idea to make F1 racing more consistently exciting. Don’t use tracks where overtaking is difficult," he wrote on social media platform 'X'.

However, the suggestion prompted a response from Brundle who defended the modern state of the sport, writing: "Jezza it’s a bit like a harvest, sometimes you have to be patient. From four starts this season we’ve had four different winners. Some football matches are nil-nil. Some are last minute 5-4 thrillers. That’s sport. I know you love F1 really. Change the cars, not the tracks."

Does F1 have an overtaking problem?

One of the major issues for drivers at the Japanese GP last time out was racing in dirty air, with multiple drivers complaining it was impossible to overtake when closely following another car.

To be in the path of a car's dirty air means that a driver is following so closely that they are picking up turbulence coming from the car in front, unsettling the car behind and thus making overtaking difficult.

Tyres were also part of the overtaking problem with drivers managing their tyres throughout the race in Japan, and a one-stop race proved to be a dull grand prix for fans.

Despite claims the Japanese GP was boring, F1 has enjoyed four different race winners this season with Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen all enjoying a win apiece from Melbourne, Shanghai and Suzuka respectively.

Heading into the Bahrain GP this weekend, even Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitted that star driver Verstappen will hardly have a win handed to him in Sakhir due to the nature of the track, which allows for significantly more overtaking than Suzuka, where the Dutchman succeeded last time out.

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