Sergio Perez did not need a press release to know something had changed. The Cadillac driver told reporters at the Baku City Circuit on 23 September that he first heard about Monaco’s 2027 Sprint through the drivers’ WhatsApp group, before Formula 1 made the announcement.

“I found out through our group, actually. There were some comments there. It was a bit busy, the group,” Perez said, according to Racingnews365.

Asked what was actually being said in the chat, he refused to elaborate.

“It stays on the group. You can imagine.”

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Perez said he could see the logic of shaking up a weekend that has, in recent years, been settled by Saturday qualifying.

“I think it was just a Saturday event in the last few years. Whatever happened on Saturday was basically done. So, I think right now it can mix things around a little bit more.”

Hamilton unhappy with the format

Lewis Hamilton was less coy about his own reaction. Speaking at Baku, the seven-time world champion said adding a Sprint to Monaco misses the point of what needs fixing about the weekend.

“It makes no sense to me, but I’m not making decisions, obviously,” Hamilton told Crash.

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“This is a beautiful place, such a beautiful country, an incredible circuit to drive, but the race is as dull as it gets.”

“A sprint race is not the answer.”

Russell wants less Friday practice

George Russell took the opposite view. The Mercedes driver argued that traditional race weekends drag, and that a Sprint gives Friday a purpose that FP2 does not.

“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,” Russell said.

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“And yeah, of course the race isn’t going to be the most exciting one, but that will be compensated by having a more exciting Friday.”

Oscar Piastri sat in the middle. He said he had been surprised at first but understood that the goal was to squeeze two proper qualifying sessions into the weekend rather than to produce a wheel-to-wheel Sprint race.

“You know, obviously it’s probably not going to be the best Sprint race that we have, but I think having two qualifying sessions is going to be an interesting thing,” Piastri said.

Max Verstappen was unmoved.

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“Maybe Monaco wanted it, I don’t know. For me, I honestly don’t care where the sprints are.”

Monaco set for 4-6 June 2027

Monaco is one of 10 Sprint venues Formula 1 has confirmed for 2027, up from six this season. Bahrain, Australia, Japan, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, Brazil, Qatar and Abu Dhabi complete the list, and the total championship runs to 24 races across 22 countries, with Portugal and Türkiye returning to the calendar.

The Monaco Grand Prix Sprint weekend is scheduled for 4-6 June 2027, with two separate qualifying sessions built into the schedule.

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