George Russell demands MASSIVE changes to the F1 sprint weekend format

Russell went for higher downforce configuration in Spa with which he struggled throughout the weekend.

George Russell demands MASSIVE changes to the F1 sprint weekend format

George Russell (Credits: RacingNews365)

Mercedes driver George Russell has recently spoken up against the current sprint weekend format after their troublesome campaign in Spa. As the number of practice sessions gets reduced, the current sprint weekend format allows only one practice session for teams to make changes to their cars, after which they have to run the whole weekend on that same setup if they don’t want to start from the pitlane.

Russell and Lewis Hamilton had started with different downforce levels in Spa. After the rainy FP1 session, they were unable to understand the setup fully and went ahead with the same, which proved costly for Russell. While he admitted that this unpreparedness does generate excitement among the fans, Russell expressed his desire to make changes to the car mid-weekend.

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“It can be really challenging. I still don’t love the fact that you’re not allowed to change the setup of the car from after FP1. I think it creates an unknown for the sport, which can be exciting,” Russell was quoted by Autosport.

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Russell also compared this situation to a tennis player who received his racquet an hour before his game without any prior practice. He said, “But it’s like giving a tennis player his racquet an hour before the final at Wimbledon and just saying this is what you’ve got, suck it up and get on with it.”

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George Russell backs the introduction of a winter break in Formula One

George Russell
George Russell (Credits: F1)

Formula One is currently in its second week of the summer break. With fourteen days remaining until the Dutch GP weekend starting on 25th August, George Russell has claimed that the break has been essential for everyone involved in the ‘brutal’ sport while showing his support on rumors of a winter break.

Russell talked about how the sport is demanding for the engineers and designers with the constant upgrades they must be rolling out throughout the season. He said that a break like this helps all of them to reset and come back more rejuvenated.

“I think the summer break is a really great thing for everybody in the sport.  It totally resets and rejuvenates, but also with maybe some new ideas on how to improve. And I think there are talks of it for the winter as well. It’s a brutal sport, incredibly intense. I think that would probably be a good addition,” said Russell.

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