Lewis Hamilton has disagreed with the decision to shorten Formula 1 grands prix from the 2027 campaign, arguing “longer races” is what the championship needs.
On Monday it was announced that the length of a standard grand prix will go from 305km to 290km to reduce the cost of chassis changes fitting the reworked power units from next year.
The 2027 season will see an increase in the output of the internal combustion engine versus electrical energy and to achieve this extra power, the fuel flow is rising by 5%.
Although a solution to accommodate such a change is to increase the fuel tank capacity, that would make a chassis heavier again and that is against one purpose of the new regulations.
So the decision has instead been made to shorten races to minimise the risk of drivers running out of fuel, and at most circuits this will take around three laps off the current count.
When it was put to Hamilton at this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, he said: “I don’t really know anything about it or any of the reasons they put behind it, I think the races should be longer because the races are physically easier than ever before.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images
“So shortening I don’t think makes much sense. If you think about this weekend we had the [Pirelli] C3, 4, 5, that can pretty much do the race distance, so we have a lot of races where it’s only a one stop.
“It’s not particularly challenging, it is challenging, but they’re making tyres that just seem to go longer, so for me there’s been many races where I wish we had more laps.
“The opposite that I would be asking for is longer races to be honest. This is supposed to be the sport that’s the most physically demanding, mentally and physically, and there are some that are just so hot and ultimately you are on the edge, like Singapore is incredibly hot and demanding, Malaysia will be crazy this year.
“But that’s where I think you want to see athletes just right on the edge, right at the edge of their performance, having to actually push their bodies further, because that’s what this sport is about, pushing the levels and pushing the boundaries, so shortening the races makes absolutely no sense to me.”
Malaysia is the race after Baku and the South-East Asian country is returning to F1 for the first time since 2017 due to the cancellation of Bahrain amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
It was once a staple of the F1 calendar, featuring every year from 1999 to 2017 with Hamilton, who made his debut in 2007, winning just once in 2014 en route to his second of seven titles.
Lewis Hamilton at 2014 Malaysian GP
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
“I’ve always loved going to KL and had lots of great experiences there with my previous team,” said the Ferrari driver, who has raced there with McLaren and then Mercedes.
“The track is awesome. It’s a track that does give good racing and when it comes to deciding what tracks to go through in the year, that should be a part of the decision making.
“Like we want good races for fans, not ones that you don’t see any overtaking in, so I very much welcome it.
“I’m looking forward to it, again it’s a super hot circuit, there’s going to be one that’s physically massively demanding, so I look forward to that challenge.”
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