Home F1 Norris Responds Critically to F1 Sprints: ‘It’s not to make us any happier’

Norris Responds Critically to F1 Sprints: ‘It’s not to make us any happier’

F1 — 04/28/2024

Remarkably, Lando Norris stated that he was not in favor of the new sprint format that was unveiled at the Chinese Grand Prix, adding that the change was made “for the fans” rather than the drivers and teams.

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Any modifications to the format of Formula One Sprint Weekends, according to Lando Norris, are not intended to make the drivers “any happier” at these competitions.

Sprint weekends will now follow a new running order, with the sprint component concluding before grand prix qualifying. This was implemented for the Chinese Grand Prix.

This strategy substitutes the ‘Sprint Saturday’ of the previous season, in which the major qualifying session and practice were held on Friday, while the grand prix was staged on Sunday.

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“To be really honest, I have no idea. I simply hop in and go off. When questioned about if the new format worked better over the course of the weekend at the Shanghai International Circuit, Norris told reporters, including RacingNews365, “I’m not too fussed.”

“I’m not sure if it’s better for the engineers and mechanics, or for the team. I thus don’t really have an opinion because I just get in the car when I’m ordered to, therefore it doesn’t really matter to me.”

It’s not a question for us, in my opinion.Although the McLaren driver doesn’t seem to care about the way Formula One will operate six sprint weekends starting in 2024—the next one is scheduled for the Miami Grand Prix—he did state that he would prefer a typical race weekend, which is in line with the opinions of several of his colleagues.

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“I still prefer a normal race weekend, in my opinion,” the 24-year-old said, but highlighted the inclusion of sprint weekends on the F1 calendar as not being about the drivers.

“I think it’s probably better for the fans. It’s not for us, right. It’s for the fans, it’s for the people watching,” he added, before suggesting the question is perhaps better directed elsewhere.

“If it’s good to watch, if it’s good for you guys then that’s why we do it in the first place. It’s not to make us any happier while driving, or have more fun, so I don’t think it’s a question for us.”