F1 has long considered tweaking the format to enhance entertainment, notably reducing the three practice sessions of the standard grand prix format and instead introducing some form of danger from Friday.

It was this idea that led to the introduction of sprints, and FOM is now evaluating further tweaks to make Fridays even more exciting.

While Steiner was one of many supporters of the introduction of dedicated qualifying sessions in the sprint races to replace lame-duck Saturday practice in parc ferme conditions, he cautioned against making “too drastic” changes, and Don’t think bonus points or other benefits of practice sessions for points is a good idea.

“The way I see it, it’s either a game or a practice. You can’t say who won a practice because then you’d need a game out of it,” Steiner said. “Because if there’s something at the end, everybody’s going to be fighting for it, and then maybe we’re going to dilute the game and what they’re going to do.

“We need to be careful not to try too hard now and then change everything. Let’s change little by little, always making sure we try something and if it doesn’t work, don’t be afraid to do something different instead of being stubborn and Keep it up. It’s always been on my mind.

“That’s how we spent the sprint weekend because a lot of people were against it at first. Now I think everyone is very happy that we succeeded.

“I think a normal race weekend we can keep it for now.”

George Russell, Mercedes-AMG

Photography: Steve Etherington/ motorsport pictures

Mercedes driver and GPDA director George Russell pointed out that with limited testing, teams need to be able to test new projects on the car without fear of any kind of incentive.

“I think (should be) just practice picking the car, testing for the future,” he said.

“We’re obviously not doing any testing at all. I think one session is enough for all of us to do the various things that we need to try and help develop.

“It’s still the pinnacle of the sport and you don’t want to be left with the car you created at the beginning of the year without the opportunity to try new things.

“Sometimes, that’s the beauty; you have this 60-minute class where you can try new things, grow, improve further. Whereas if you go straight into a class that’s worth the points, or has an award, you’re less likely to try New things.”

Additional reporting by Alex Kalinauckas