NASCAR Veteran “Out of Love” for F1 as Max Verstappen’s 22-Second Season Opener Highlights “No Racing”

While the current NASCAR season has been wooing fans with close competition and stellar finishes, the story isn’t quite as enticing for Formula 1 fans, who have been greeted by another year of Red Bull’s dominance after Max Verstappen sealed the opening Grand Prix in Bahrain with a 22-second gap over his teammate, Sergio Perez. Heading into the new season, there were talks from insiders and team principals alike that stated that Red Bull’s dominance was close to an end. But after the night at Bahrain, it’s safe to say fans aren’t too happy with the other team’s progress compared to the reigning champions. With that said, Kenny Wallace highlighted how such a gap would not have been allowed in NASCAR today.

Kenny Wallace pulls no punches against Formula 1 officials after Verstappen sweeps Bahrain GP win

When Daniel Suarez crossed the line at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, he was leading Ryan Blaney by a difference of 0.003 seconds. A gap that was less than 10 inches in length when converted to a measuring scale. Not only did this provide fans with one of the most exciting finishes, but it also helped draw eyeballs to the sport owing to its intensity. On the other hand, F1’s season opener has left many with questions regarding the sport’s ‘equality’.

While the sport’s fans have been extremely vocal about Red Bull’s dominance once again leaving the community with less action than desired, the discussion on Verstappen’s win is picking up in the NASCAR paddock too, according to Kenny Wallace. In his latest ‘Coffee with Kenny’ video on YouTube, the veteran Cup Series driver reflected on how the Milton Keynes outfit’s domination has resulted in a lull in the interest of fans.

Wallace stated, “Formula 1 in Bahrain, now listen, for years we were told that, oh my god! Formula 1 is the greatest! Because they get it! They understand it. Technology, they’re smart. Look at them! They’re on Netflix!” Fast forward to the season opener, and the atmosphere on social platforms was reflecting how uninterested the fans seemed to be getting with the same driver and team, winning every race.

The host of the Kenny Conversation added, “My, my, oh my, how people fall out of love so quickly. So today in Bahrain, Max Verstappen won by 22 seconds. Oh yeah, yep, I’m telling you once I won’t say it again…So in Bahrain, Max Verstappen won by 22 seconds, and they never threw the caution flag for debris!” While the 60-year-old acknowledged the lack of crashes or concerns to trigger a safety car during the race, he felt Verstappen’s 22-second lead was an anomaly in itself.

But that wasn’t all. Wallace also felt it reflected poorly on the FIA for allowing such dominance to persist in the first place. He added, “I guess debris did not show up but if you were ever going to throw a caution, that would have been the time, and they didn’t, so I guess, that’s pretty incredible that they didn’t throw the caution flag because when a man is leading by 22 seconds, he won by 22 seconds, so that begs for you all to respond right here. Who’s number one right now?”

READ MORE:  NASCAR World Lists 900+ Reasons to “Why Does Everyone Hate Bubba Wallace?”

Posing a serious question toward the motorsport community, Wallace asked fans if they preferred the state of F1 currently over the action-packed races NASCAR was delivering. And just when you thought there couldn’t be more for Wallace to crucify “the pinnacle of motorsport” on, the veteran also pointed out the exorbitant prices for some tickets.

Amidst the RBR dominance, Wallace asks fans if they prefer luxurious itineraries to competitive races

We all know that Formula 1 is considered the pinnacle of motorsport for not just for how exclusive the grid is, but also because of how state-of-the-art the technology has to be. But still, for a sport to charge over $5000 for certain packages at events like the Las Vegas Grand Prix puts the sport’s priorities into question. Apart from all the backlash from F1 drivers for resorting to adding more street circuits, F1 and Liberty Media have also come under fire for some of these over-the-top expenses that fans may have to bear.

Reflecting on this point, Wallace expressed, “I love Formula 1. I like all racing, however, are you out of love with Formula 1 right now? Respond right here. Are you out of love with F1 right now? Because there is no racing. However, you can spend $6000 a ticket and get you a real nice suite, get some real nice jumbo shrimp, you know, you’re feeling wealthy.” To put it simply, Wallace felt fans entertained way too much in the name of grandeur to sacrifice on competitive racing.

Putting together an analogy of his own, Wallace shared, “If there was a NASCAR race today, and let’s say Denny Hamlin win by 22 seconds. You would ask for NASCAR to be shut down, yes you would. So, are you out of love with Formula 1 right now, or do you like those $6000 tickets where you get your own little area, your own little drink?”

Feeling that he was acting as an instigator, Wallace pulled back a little but couldn’t help mentioning how it was on everyone’s minds. He concluded, “I mean, that’s breaking news in the garage right now. How can a racing series allow a guy to win by 22 seconds? I got so much to say about that but I can’t. I’ll get in trouble.”

Read More: Why Jimmie Johnson Is Not Recognized Enough Despite Being as Good as Earnhardt Sr & Petty?

While the 2024 F1 season may have started off with Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen leaving the competition in the dust, can Ferrari and Charles Leclerc prove Wallace wrong by catching up to the reigning champions in time?