Russell criticizes modern F1: “A race to Turn 1”

George Russell Criticizes Modern Formula 1 After the US GP

Mercedes driver George Russell has expressed his frustration with the current Formula 1, suggesting that races have become a “race to the first corner”. These statements arose after a United States Grand Prix that, despite expectations, did not offer many overtakes. Max Verstappen took the victory, marking his thirteenth time in 19 races this year in which the driver starting from pole position took the win. Russell, who started fifth and finished sixth, lost a position to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at the start of the race.

“Right now, in F1 it’s a race to the first corner,” Russell commented to Sky Sports F1. “There is no tire degradation, there are only three tenths of a second between the fastest and slowest car in the top six.”

George Russell

Russell explained that, normally, at least half a second of advantage is needed to overtake. “If I had come out of the first corner in P3, I would have been on the podium today. But instead, I started in P6 and finished P6,” he added.

Lando Norris of McLaren made some overtakes in his fight with Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, although the different tire strategies influenced it. Formula 1 has struggled to find a solution to improve wheel-to-wheel racing. The Drag Reduction System (DRS) is being replaced with next year’s rule changes, but it has been compared to a temporary fix for deeper problems, related to the difficulty modern F1 cars have in following each other. The tire supplier Pirelli has been criticized, but Russell argues that it is unfair to focus solely on that area.

“Pirelli always gets criticism, no matter what,” Russell said. “[When] there is a lot of tire degradation, people say it’s not real, the drivers can’t push when we have to manage… [then] we don’t like it when there is no tire degradation, we say it’s a boring race.”

George Russell

Russell went on to explain that the ideal solution would be a tire that allows drivers to push hard for a limited time, forcing multiple pit stops. “Ideally, the soft tire lasts 12 laps, the medium 15 laps and the hard 20 laps, and then it’s over. But that’s much easier said than done.” The driver concluded by saying that Pirelli is doing a good job, despite the criticism, and that the current tires are very good, although they can affect the quality of the races.