Russell Laments Modern F1: “Race to Turn 1” after US GP

George Russell Criticizes Modern Formula 1 After the United States Grand Prix

Mercedes driver George Russell has expressed his opinion on the current situation of Formula 1, suggesting that the races have become a simple “race to turn 1”. This happened after a United States Grand Prix with few emotions. The race at the Circuit of the Americas, which promised to be epic, was characterized by a limited number of overtakes throughout the pack. Max Verstappen’s victory was the 13th of the season for the driver who started from pole position in the 19 races held. Russell, who started in fifth place, finished sixth, losing a position to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at the start of the race.

Right now, in F1 it’s a race to turn 1. 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, it takes at least half a second to overtake. He added that, if he had come out third from turn 1, he would have been on the podium. However, coming out sixth, he finished in that same position.

Lando Norris, from McLaren, starred in some overtakes in his fight with Charles Leclerc from Ferrari, although the different tire strategies of both drivers facilitated that situation. Formula 1 has struggled to find a solution to improve wheel-to-wheel racing. The Drag Reduction System (DRS) will be replaced with next year’s regulation changes, but it has previously been compared to a patch for deeper problems, largely related to the difficulty modern F1 cars have in following each other. Pirelli, the long-time F1 tire supplier, has often been blamed for the situation of its tires, but Russell explained that it is unfair to focus solely on that aspect.

Pirelli receives constant criticism, no matter what. When there is a lot of tire degradation, people say it’s not real, that the drivers can’t push when they have to manage… and then we don’t like it when there is no tire degradation, and we say it’s a boring race.

George Russell

Russell concluded that, ideally, a tire would be needed that allows drivers to go flat out for a limited time, with strategic stops.