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Formula One ‘not really sport’ according to ex-driver Max Chilton

By Asher Fair

SONOMA, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: Max Chilton of Great Britain driver of the #8 Gallagher Honda drives in practice on day 1 of the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway on September 15, 2017 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SONOMA, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: Max Chilton of Great Britain driver of the #8 Gallagher Honda drives in practice on day 1 of the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway on September 15, 2017 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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Current IndyCar driver and former Formula One driver Max Chilton recently controversially stated that Formula One is “not really sport”.

Former Formula One driver Max Chilton, who currently drives in the Verizon IndyCar Series, recently made controversial comments on whether or not he believes Formula One should really be considered sport.

Chilton, 26, drove in 35 of the 38 Formula One races in the 2013 and 2014 seasons for Marussia. His best finishes were 13th place results, which he recorded in the 2014 Australian Grand Prix and the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix.

After failing to score points in two seasons in Formula One, Chilton came to the United States to drive in the Indy Lights Series, the open wheel series that is one below IndyCar, for Carlin Motorsport. He drove in 13 of the 16 races that season and racked up 11 top 5 finishes, including six podium finishes and one win at Iowa Speedway. He finished in 5th place in the championship standings.

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In 2016, Chilton landed his first career IndyCar ride with Chip Ganassi Racing. He drove full-time for the team in both the 2016 and 2017 seasons before being released this past offseason.

However, he will still be driving in the series next season, as he will be one of Carlin Motorsport’s two drivers along with former Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Charlie Kimball when the team make their debut in the series.

Here is what Chilton had to say on the subject of whether or not Formula One should be considered sport, according to Dailymail.co.uk.

"“The problem Formula One has got at the moment is there is a four-second gap between the lead car and the back car and that’s not really sport. Sport should pretty much be a level playing field or as close to possible.“Motorsport is never going to be like that, it’s impossible, but IndyCar next year is going to be as near a one-make series than they have done. Everyone has the same aero kit and there is very little difference between the engines and the racing should be even closer next year.”"

Next: Who is the greatest Formula One driver of all-time?

Max Chilton has clearly had more success in IndyCar than he had in Formula One even though he has still not yet finished on the podium in 33 races. He has racked up eight career top 10 finishes with one top 5 finish in IndyCar, with that top 5 finish being a 4th place result in the 2017 Indianapolis 500. But are his comments about Formula One accurate, or did he go too far?

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