“Majority of Them Were Pro”: Naomi Schiff Gives Surprising Opinion of F1 Drivers Over Sprint Race Existence Amidst Difficulties

Naomi Schiff has recently revealed on the Sky Sports F1 podcast about the differing opinions that F1 drivers have about the existence of the Sprint format. The expert revealed that most of the drivers were interestingly in favor of the new format, while some definitely had their reservations.

Schiff said, “I did actually have the opportunity to ask the question to all the drivers that were there in the press conference on Thursday, on what was obviously the last, sixth and final Sprint race of the season. What were their reflection? And I’ve to say that it was quite mixed.”

INSTANT action as lights went out for the Sprint!

And we get to do it all over again for Sunday’s race 😍#BrazilGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/K6JV17dgIt

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 5, 2023

With this, she further added, “Quite a few of them, I’d say, majority of them were pro on the Sprint”. Along with this, the Sky Sports expert also emphasized that the fans also loved the Sprint format. She said, “The viewing figures say that the Sprint is loved by the audience.”

Admittedly, the Sprint races have been problematic for the teams as the one practice session results in them having difficulties setting up the car for the weekend. However, although the majority of the drivers were pro-Sprint races, Max Verstappen was not one of them.

Max Verstappen and Christian Horner are against F1’s sprint format

Red Bull’s top names such as Max Verstappen and Christian Horner were two critical members who criticized the Sprint race off late. For Verstappen, he wants a normal race weekend with no further invention since it becomes hectic for the drivers. For Horner, the Sprint race seems to be missing the X factor and therefore is not very appealing.

Admittedly, the Sprint race has faced mixed reactions from the audience, experts, and drivers from day one. While part of them believed that the new format had nothing new to provide in the race, the other side enjoyed the extra adrenaline rush the Sprint weekend provided.

P20 to P5 in 24 laps 🤯

Lewis, W12, and Interlagos in perfect harmony for the #F1Sprint in 2021 😍pic.twitter.com/dWpeP9yIZy

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) November 2, 2023

One driver who seems to love the Sprint format is Lewis Hamilton. This is because the Mercedes star had a mega race in Brazil in 2021 where he started the Sprint race in P20. By the time the race in Sao Paulo concluded, Hamilton crossed the finish line in P1.