“Not the Opinion That We Really Listen To” – George Russell Given Bitter Reality Check in Response to Imola GP Complaints

The Sprint race in Imola was an exciting affair on Saturday. Although sprint races are enthralling, not all are in favor of a race on Saturday. Among them is Mercedes driver George Russell. However, his claims have been blown out of the water by F1 managing director, Ross Brawn. He has made some bold claims about the British driver’s disagreement on the concept of sprint races.

Ross Brawn silences George Russell’s Imola Sprint claims

The Mercedes driver is someone who still does not have confidence in the sprint race format. Russell struggled throughout the race and only finished P11 in Imola. In a recent interview after the sprint race in Imola, he said, “I don’t know what the rest of the race was like but it felt processional from where we were,”. He went on to add, “I’m not a major fan of it, in all honestly…”

However, F1 managing director Ross Brawn believes that the comments were made in frustration due to his team’s struggles this weekend. He said, “Whenever my driver’s had a bad car, he’s complained about the race! So I think George’s opinion or the opinion of anyone at the back of the grid is not the opinion that we really listen to.”

Read More: F1 Sprint Mastermind Puts a Number on Increased Races Next Year After ‘Successful’ Imola GP

Brawn has been a staunch supporter of the idea of sprint races. He even described the sprint in Imola as a “great success”.

Brawn in favor of some changes in sprint race format

There has been a lot of praise for the exciting new sprint format. However, people are still wary about the fact that it sets the grid for the main race on Sunday. There have been multiple shouts of making certain changes to the format which would make it better.

It has been reported that the Drivers have been pushing for the sprint race to be a standalone event that does not decide the grid for Sunday. This would lead to more exciting racing as drivers will not have to worry about any mistakes ruining their Sunday as well.

Ross Brawn had a similar suggestion last year as well ahead of the Italian GP. He said, “I think the qualifying idea is a good suggestion. If the qualifying on Friday meant the grid position for Sunday, and also for the sprint race, that could be quite fun.”

What are your thoughts about the current Sprint race format?