Hamilton hails F1 rule changes ahead of 'MOST EXCITING' weekend

Lewis Hamilton has hailed the Baku Sprint weekend as 'the most exciting' of the season so far.

The seven-time champion bounced back from a torrid start to the year with a second-place finish last time out at the Australian Grand Prix.

But his progress could be aided further this weekend by the jeopardy of the Sprint format, with drivers enjoying only one hour of practice to set up their cars before entering parc fermé conditions on Friday.

Although Saturday's 'standalone' Sprint Shootout no longer affects Sunday's grid, it equally does not allow drivers to make changes to their cars and presents a significant risk of damage being caused.

Asked about his confidence in repeating his podium visit, Hamilton said: "I'm as confident as I can be, I guess. A lot of work has been done in the background.

"The last race was really great for us. We've worked really hard to get that sort of result. It won't be easy to do again – we know the Ferraris will be quick, the Red Bulls will be quick, Aston Martin will be quick as well.

"I hope we're just in the mix. I hope that we get to battle with them.

"This is an amazing event for us to do that (at) and particularly with the whole shakeup of the format of the weekend. It's probably the most exciting weekend so far this year and I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out."

'We have the best races in Azerbaijan'

The Sprint format has received a mixed reaction from drivers with Max Verstappen being particularly vocal in his negative opinion.

Eager to get going with the weekend, Hamilton added: "I think it's going to be tough for everybody but we're all in the same boat. And what a track to be able to do it at, where overtaking is possible. It's great racing here - we always have most of the best races here.

"It's definitely difficult to have one session where you have 20 laps and then you're straight into qualifying, but it's what we're here to do."

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