Thomas

🚨 Arteta: “PSG-Bayern was probably the best game I have ever witnessed. I've never seen something like this”.  “But when I look at the amount of minutes and the freshness of those players, then I'm not surprised…”.

PSG have an even bigger advantage than Bayern. Beyond the 34-game schedule, the LFP actively postpones Ligue 1 fixtures around European ties, including against title rivals who openly object. Add a lower-intensity league where key players routinely log fewer minutes, and by the time the semifinals hit, they've often already wrapped up the title, enabling total squad rotation while their European rivals are still grinding through a 38-game gauntlet.

Max Verstappen was asked about the rule changes after qualifying in Miami, particularly those affecting qualifying. Specifically, are drivers still penalized if they try to go faster through certain corners? "That's still the case. If you give more throttle in certain corners, it still slows you down on the straight afterwards. We really need to get rid of that. That will be difficult on certain circuits. Hopefully they can take another step next year: more engine power and less battery. Then you'll get that sorted out better." "The rules they've adjusted don't really affect the overall driving pleasure." However, they are already looking at a new engine regulation, with the possible return of the V8 engine. "That's obviously going to take a while. We'll see about that. But you know: the car itself is fine, you can race reasonably well with it. We just need to move away a bit from that 55/45 ratio (the distribution between the combustion engine and the battery, ed.). It should at least go back to something like the previous regulations. So that you're around 75 or 80 percent engine power. If we can head in that direction, that would be really nice." But is that realistic for next year? "No, you're definitely not going to see 75 or 80 percent next year." "It's always a political story, because everyone always thinks they have an advantage somewhere, or not. But I'm just thinking about how we can make the sport better. It just shouldn't be the case that if you go full throttle longer through a corner, where you gain time, you then get penalised on the straight. We need to get rid of that." "The criticism of the regulations remains the same. It doesn't matter if I'm second or eighth, but for myself and in terms of driving feel, this is of course a bit nicer. It still needs to be resolved though."