Russell and Hamilton back new sprint plans: 'We have to keep evolving'

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton have expressed their support for an overhaul of the format surrounding sprint racing. In the post-qualifying press conference for the Australian Grand Prix, both Mercedes drivers were asked for their views on Formula 1's impending plans, and both men expressed their openness to a new approach to the sprint race.

While the drivers are fully focused on the Australian Grand Prix, something else is happening in the background. For Formula 1 seems determined to overturn the entire format of the sprint race. Instead of the sprint race determining the starting grid for the Grand Prix, the sprint race is to become a standalone extra race and the starting grid for both the sprint race and the Grand Prix will be determined by traditional qualifying. We previously covered the exact design of the weekend in another article.

While Max Verstappen is critical of the whole operation, the new plan can count on support from the Mercedes camp. "When the Sprint race was introduced in the beginning I wasn't a fan," says Russell. "After doing nine of them, I've become more in favour. I trust in what Stefano and F1 are doing. It's difficult to see, in the beginning, the prospects, but we've got to keep on evolving."

Russell and Hamilton stress that as a sport you cannot stand still

"I do think, globally, qualifying and the Grand Prix work very well, but I'm open to change," Russell continued. "I think having the action on the Friday [is a big improvement]. Having action every single day, also for fans in the crowd, [makes it more interesting]. Just watching cars circulating in practice, I don't think it's as exciting as when you have a qualifying session like this or a Sprint race. So I think it's exciting for us, for the teams, and for the fans."

"I don't know the exact plans, but I do think we constantly need to be evolving and assessing what we're doing," Hamilton added. "And I think the changes with the Sprint races has been positive in some places. I'm open to changes, to continue to make it more inclusive and more engaging for the fans. I quite like the Friday of a Sprint weekend so far. I'd love to have more qualifying because that's always super fun. Perhaps we can just apply just slightly small changes to different races, specific for those places."