George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Hungary, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Mercedes star calls for MAJOR F1 change

George Russell has called for a change to the structure of F1 weekends at the Brazilian Grand Prix

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 5 November 2024 10:57

Mercedes star George Russell has called for a huge change to the format of Formula 1 race weekends, after a chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix.

Russell finished fourth in Interlagos, narrowly missing out on a podium having led the race for the first 28 laps.

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The Brit's race was ruined when an unfortunately-timed red flag meant that Max Verstappen, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly all gained a free pit stop over he and second-placed Lando Norris, with the two Brits having already pitted, Russell evidently fuming at his bad luck over team radio.

That red flag during the race was one of six during Sunday's running, with five occurring in an unusual Sunday morning qualifying session which had been postponed due to the unpredictable weather in Sao Paulo.

George Russell finished fourth at the Brazilian GP

Qualifying was postponed until Sunday in Brazil due to adverse weather conditions

Russell's F1 change request

Due to torrential rain and thunderstorms, qualifying was unable to go ahead as planned on Saturday afternoon in Brazil, instead being pushed back to Sunday morning.

It meant an extremely busy Sunday for the drivers and their teams, with the two most important sessions of the weekend running just hours apart.

Despite this challenge, Russell seemed to enjoy the revised schedule, even suggesting it should be something F1 looks into doing in the future.

The Brit qualified up in second in amongst a chaotic session, and would later take advantage of a poor start from Norris to move up to first.

"I loved it to be honest, reminded me of the karting days, waking up having breakfast in your race suit and just going out there and driving," Russell said in his post-qualifying interview.

Clearly in a lighthearted mood, the 26-year-old cheekily suggested: "Maybe the guys should have a bit of a think about the format moving forward, maybe this is the one you know, qualifying Sunday morning."

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