George Russell says that having a single practice outing before jumping into competitive sessions would be enough for Formula 1 drivers to dial themselves into a rhythm and for teams to test new items.
The structure of a race weekend has been a prominent topic recently, with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali stating that he supported the prospect of reducing practice sessions at events.
F1 has used an alternative weekend format at select races since 2021, with a shorter sprint race taking place on Saturday before Sunday’s main event.
However, further changes are now proposed that would see two separate qualifying sessions for the Sprint and the grand prix, with just one practice session on Friday.
Russell says that more track time should be allocated to the junior categories, with Formula 2 and 3 getting just 45 minutes of practice before qualifying.
“Obviously the more practice you do, the more up to speed you’ll be, the more comfortable you’ll be with the car,” Russell said.
“I don’t think it’s right that Formula 1 has three times the amount of practice that you have in the F3 and F2 categories.
“They should be the ones to get more practice, also because they’re doing less races, they don’t get to test that often.”
Russell admits he’s a fan of the sprint race format, and says it’s “vital” that Friday should provide more entertainment than tedious practice sessions.
“No practice would be too little,” he said. “I wasn’t in favour of the sprint races initially, but having done – how many have we done now? Six, nine, maybe over the two years?
“I really enjoy the sprint races and having action on a Friday, I think, is vital for all of us and also for the entertainment factor.”
Max Verstappen, however, has criticised the push to introduce further changes to a race weekend, stating that he would be willing to walk away from the sport if its “DNA” is altered too much.
While Russell is keen to have less practice, he says retaining one session would be enough for the teams and drivers.
“I think, just practice to dial in the car, to test things for the future,” he said, when asked if practice should offer rewards or be left alone and treated as a test session.
“We obviously have no testing at all. I think one session is good enough for all of us to do the various things we need to try and help develop.
“This is still the pinnacle of the sport and you don’t want to be just left with the car that you created at the start of the year with no opportunity to try out new things.
“And that is sort of the beauty, sometimes; you’ve got this 60-minute session, you can try new things, develop, improve further.
“Whereas if you’re going straight into a session that is points-worthy or there is a reward, you’re less likely to trial new things.”
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