George Russell has spoken out against a new Formula One rule which demands every team give two FP1 sessions to junior drivers this season. Lewis Hamilton agrees with his Mercedes team-mate after Nyck de Vries and Juri Vips got run-outs for Williams and Red Bull respectively in Spain.
De Vries gave a great account of himself during his FP1 stint with Williams, finishing the Friday practice session one-tenth quicker than permanent team member Nicholas Latifi. Vips, meanwhile, finished at the back of the pack after standing in for Sergio Perez, but both junior drivers were given precious experience on the F1 stage.
Russell does not see it that way, however. The Mercedes star instead pointed out that such a brief stint on track puts too much pressure on the up-and-comers, who may be fearful that an underwhelming performance could ruin their chances of breaking into the top level of motorsport.
“I think, slightly counter-intuitively, I personally don’t think it’s correct to be getting drivers in for FP1 to showcase what they can do in front of the world in 60 minutes, in 10 laps in a car they have barely driven, and be judged off this,” he told reporters.
DON’T MISS: F1 boss provides update on FIA president amid split talk over Lewis Hamilton row
“And this is speaking from my own experience of the number of FP1 sessions. You know the pressure will be immense – now we are putting even more pressure on these guys to go out there and try and prove them[selves]. They will always be judged on how they get on. But that’s just the way the game is at the moment.”
Hamilton agreed, adding: “You look sometimes further down the order that they just send a driver out on light fuel and it’s not a lot of laps, maybe 20 or so laps, it’s a lot of pressure. It can be a fun opportunity but I don’t think they should be judged on that, for sure.”
With the rule set to stay in place despite Russell and Hamilton weighing in on the situation, more junior drivers will take to the track later this season. The FIA made the change this year to allow drivers with two Grand Prix experience or less to gain precious experience, while the same driver does not have to be put in for both sessions.
The Mercedes duo had perhaps their most positive weekend of the season so far in Spain, coming away with a podium and a P5 after finally getting on top of their porpoising issues. Russell boosted his stock after successfully fending off the ferocious challenge of Max Verstappen for several laps, ending up with a third-place finish, while Hamilton was able to work his way through the pack after an early collision with Kevin Magnussen.
Another impressive haul of 15 points leaves Russell fourth in the Drivers’ Championship, 28 points ahead of Hamilton and nine ahead of Carlos Sainz, who has the luxury of driving a much faster Ferrari. Perez managed to finish second at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya despite sitting out FP1, while Alex Albon was last of the finishers having made way for De Vries in practice.
The Silver Arrows pairing and the rest of their F1 rivals will not have long to wait before action gets back underway in Monaco this coming weekend.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
