F1 drivers clash over 2027 Monaco sprint addition
Formula 1 drivers have given mixed reactions to news that a Monaco sprint race will join the calendar in 2027. The sport is increasing the number of sprint weekends to ten across the season, and Monaco is one of them.
Lewis Hamilton has been the sharpest critic, branding the current race “as dull as it gets” and questioning whether a sprint will actually fix it. George Russell and Sergio Perez see it differently, welcoming a change to a weekend they feel has grown stale, according to Crash.net’s coverage of driver media duties this week.
Official sprint expansion details and driver reactions
F1 confirmed this year that the sprint calendar will expand to ten weekends in 2027, with Monaco included for the first time. It’s a notable shift for a race long criticised for offering little overtaking and, at times, even less drama.
Hamilton didn’t hold back when asked about the plan. He has already called the Monaco Grand Prix “as dull as it gets” and argued a sprint isn’t the answer the weekend needs. “It makes no sense to me, but I’m not making decisions, obviously,” he said.
Russell took the opposite view, welcoming the extra competitive session on offer. “I personally think it’s good because I think now we’ve had sprints for quite a while; normal race weekends feel quite long-winded,” he said.
Perez struck a similar note, calling for more unpredictability at the principality. “Well, I think, yeah, Monaco, I think you just make it a little bit more variable, to be honest,” he said. It’s one of several comments gathered in Crash.net’s driver reaction to the Monaco sprint plans.
Tactical implications and grid split on street circuit racing
The response splits the grid along fairly predictable lines given what a street circuit like Monaco actually rewards. Hamilton’s frustration reflects years of near processional racing through the tight streets of Monte Carlo, where strategy and pit stops decide more than wheel to wheel battles ever do.
Russell and Perez argue instead that an extra competitive session earlier in the weekend could add some jeopardy. Once the grid is set on Saturday, the race itself usually settles down, and they think that needs to change. For Perez, variability is the key word: anything that dents Monaco’s usual pole position advantage should give more of the field a shot at points.
Not every driver is picking a side. Max Verstappen, speaking during media day in Baku, played down any emotional stake in where sprints land on the calendar. “Maybe Monaco wanted it, I don’t know. For me, I honestly don’t care where the sprints are. I participate, and of course you try to do the best you can,” he said.
That indifference matters as much as the criticism. It shows this isn’t simply a case of drivers against organisers. Some competitors are happy to let the calendar fall where it falls, whatever the final shape of the Monaco sprint race turns out to be.
Upcoming F1 calendar timeline and sprint schedule
F1 has not laid out the exact date order for 2027 beyond confirming ten sprint weekends, with Monaco one of them. The expansion follows several years of tweaks to a format first introduced back in 2021.
Attention now returns to the rest of this season, though the argument over how Monaco’s weekend should look is unlikely to fade quietly. Read more on how the change came about in our report on the addition to the 2027 calendar. Russell’s earlier remarks feature in our piece on the review request after Monaco discussions.
