Last week the reigning double world champion, Max Verstappen, said he will not be around for a very long time if the Formula 1 authorities keep changing the foundational DNA of the sport. And FIA’s intentions have now witnessed support from the rival clan, as Lewis Hamilton has sided with the FIA with his own suggestions. At loggerheads once again, Max and Lewis, who do you think comes out as the winner in this battle? But more importantly, what has Hamilton done to be having this off-track battle?

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali stated that there may be intentions to scrap the Friday free practice sessions from the existing format. His purpose for the probable change is to make the sport interesting from the onset of the weekend and not just later parts of it. Previously, in 2022, the race weekend became a four-day affair, with Media Day being shifted to Thursday. However, the Mercedes champ believes that there are empty spaces in there and the authorities can make an effort to organize it better.

As quoted by Motorsports Netherlands, Hamilton said, “The time during the weekend can be better organized. With three days of action, there is a lot of time between sessions. And if you look at [the races in] the Middle East, for example, we don’t get to the track until 3 p.m. There’s a lot of free time.”

And he reiterates his stance saying a closely stacked three-day weekend is a more viable option. He said, “So I think we can be more efficient. I think we should go back to a three-day weekend. That also saves a lot of travel time for people.”

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And the change of format is not the only place where Hamilton has opposed Verstappen’s opinion. The British driver has vocalized another opposing view.

Lewis Hamilton has appreciated the Sprint decision but with a caveat

Lewis Hamilton overtook almost everyone in the 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint. Perhaps that is why the good memories of the Sprint format have not faded. The said format was introduced in 2021 and has now doubled in 2023, with six Sprint races being organized this year. And as opposed to Hamilton’s stance, Lewis supported this change as well.

However, adding a caveat to the ever-changing format, the 7x champion said, “They’ve been experimenting with sprint race weekends and I think that’s cool. But there are also places where that’s not going to be good, like Monaco.”

Reiterating his love for the format, he said, “I like the format of the sprint weekend because you only have one training session. He continued, “Of course, there is a lot of pressure to make the right choices in that training, and immediately after that you will qualify. I think that’s great lately and I also enjoy it.”

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Do you think there will be changes to the decades-old Formula 1 race weekend pattern? If so, will it actually push Max Verstappen to hang his boots?