The Imola weekend gave Formula 1 fans the first Sprint race of the new season. The weekend format remained almost identical to that experienced in 2021, with qualifying on Friday, a short race on Saturday and then a ‘traditional’ race on Sunday. What changed, however, was the points system, which was expanded to reward the top eight. One way to increase the competitiveness of the drivers who are in the center of the group. However, even the new scoring system was not enough to allow Mercedes to pull something out of the Santerno Sprint, which ended for the two silver arrows with George Russell in 11th place and Lewis Hamilton in 14th.
After the race, Russell expressed his concerns about this racing format. According to the former Williams standard bearer, in fact the short race is ‘too’ short and it does not allow riders to deal with strategic variables such as the deterioration of tire performance. A statement that, however, clashes with what was seen in the duel between Leclerc and Verstappen right in Imola, with the Dutchman who used his rival’s graining to be able to beat him. “The pace of the car wasn’t bad, but we didn’t have straight speed – commented Russell, analyzing his Sprint – when there is only one overtaking point you have to have speed on the straight to flounder. I’m not a big fan of these Sprint races “he then sentenced.
“They should be at least 50% longer. Or a bit longer anyway – continued the native of King’s Lynn – so as to allow you to see the degradation of the tires and the drivers who manage them. Then you may see some differences between the machines. But now these races are done by pushing hard from start to finish. There is no chance to see a lot of overtaking, unless you qualify out of your usual position, as we have seen for some cars “he concluded. The reference is to the comebacks made by Sainz and Perez, who started tenth and seventh respectively and reached the finish line fourth and third.
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