Listen to this article F1 staged its first sprint race of the season at Imola last weekend after introducing the new format at three events in 2021. The sprint race takes place on a Saturday, running to one-third of the grand prix distance, and sets the grid for Sunday as well as offering points to the top eight finishers. Sprint races have divided opinion since their introduction among both fans and drivers. While many see the benefits of having action on all three days of the race weekend, others feels more tweaks need to be made to the format moving forward. Russell endured a difficult Saturday for Mercedes in the sprint race, starting and finishing 11th as he struggled to make any progress. “I’m not a major fan of it, in all honesty,” Russell said of the sprint format. “It needs to probably be 50% longer, or just that little bit longer to …