Max Verstappen is looking forward to seeing a capacity crowd this weekend at the British GP, though the Dutchman is under no illusions about who the home crowd will be supporting. Around 140,000 fans are expected to be in attendance for the event in what will be the biggest UK crowd since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Verstappen admits the atmosphere was missing at Silverstone last season without fans, and while the Dutchman knows the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and George Russell will get the bulk of the support, he is hoping the race delivers in terms of excitement. "Having fans back will really make the difference at Silverstone and the British crowd love motorsport in general which means it is a special place to be," Verstappen stated via a Red Bull press release. "Last year we did two races with no crowds and the atmosphere was missing. "It’s of course still an amazing track, but to have the fans back again is going to make it even better and even though I know they will be supporting the British drivers I love to see the passion that they have for all of us. I just hope that the race is going to be exciting for them too." This weekend will see Sprint Qualifying make its debut , changing the usual race weekend format. Verstappen is open to the new event, though he is reserving judgement until seeing how things play out at Silverstone. "I'm very open about trying the sprint races and I quite like that we have a bit less practice before we head into qualifying, but let’s just wait, it’s difficult to say anything about it until we’ve tested it this weekend," Verstappen added. "Every race you take risks but controlled risks, especially when you are fighting for a championship, but this one race isn’t going to define the end result."
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