Lewis Hamilton claims radical F1 decision 'makes no sense'

Lewis Hamilton believes the decision to host a Sprint event at next year's Monaco Grand Prix "makes no sense."

For the first time, the event in the Principality will host F1's shorter race format in 2027, one of a record number of 10 Sprints dotted across the season, including both the season-opener and season-finale in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, respectively.

F1's rationale behind the decision is that given qualifying in Monaco is often deemed one of the best days of the season, there will be two qualifying sessions to look forward to with the Sprint format - with Sprint Qualifying taking place after just one hour of practice.

It is hoped that this could create different grids for both events, but Hamilton, who has won the Monaco GP three times, believes adding a Sprint is not the answer to the surgery Monaco needs to address its chronic lack of overtaking.

"It makes no sense to me, but I'm not making the decisions, obviously," Hamilton told media, including RacingNews365. 

"So, on the positive, maybe we get another qualifying session, which is quite cool. But I've always said Monaco needs something different. 

"It can't be... I don't think it should be the same race formula that it is everywhere else. It needs to be something different. 

"We've already included the sprint races, which I think have really brought something new to the sport. 

"But I think we've got to come up with something new for somewhere like that, because it's a beautiful place, such a beautiful country, an incredible circuit to drive."

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'As dull as it gets'

In response to the 2024 race where the entire field was able to change tyres after a first-lap red flag, for 2025, a mandatory two-stop strategy was implemented.

This led to drivers deliberately blocking rivals to allow their team-mates to complete the two stops and not lose position.

For 2026, the race returned to a normal format, and although there was some excitement with the red flag for the track breaking up, it was still a race with a dearth of overtaking. 

Hamilton believes that the Sprint is "not the answer."

"The race is as dull as it gets," he said.

"So I don't know, but the Sprint race is not the answer, I would say."