George Russell calls for FIA rule change to cure F1 BOREDOM after Austria GP Sprint

George Russell

Russell calls for FIA rule change to cure F1 BOREDOM after Austria Sprint

The Brit is keen to see the FIA take action to avoid dull sprint races when the track is dry

Joe Ellis

Sunday 2 July 2023 14:42

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George Russell has recommended a radical rule change for F1 sprint races after securing a point in the Austrian GP.

The Mercedes man was the first to gamble on slick tyres in changeable conditions and reaped the rewards by charging through to eighth past cars on intermediate tyres.

It came after a poor showing in qualifying where a hydraulics failure prevented him running in Q2 to see him start 15th.

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Had the race run without the tyre changes late on, it could have been somewhat of a dull race with the field reasonably well spread out. But Russell thinks a small change could make that happen less often.

George Russell set the trend for slick tyres and proved to be right by the chequered flag

Russell: Conditions you pray for

“Definitely a combination," Russell said to Sky Sports. "For me, it was definitely slicks. I said the lap before, if this was qualifying, I’d be pitting now.

"The thing you don’t know as a driver is with 13 laps to go, are you going to be able to regain those positions? I was happy to make that decision and it’s always challenging when you’re in the slipstream of cars, there’s still a lot of spray.

"Even when the track has semi-dried. You’re trying to judge [whether] it’s dry or the spray coming from proper wetness on the track or just dampness.

“I think after a bad qualifying, these are the conditions you pray for. If I was top five on the grid, you probably wouldn’t be feeling the same way. I think the sprint race is an interesting one.

"I still feel like it’s too short. In normal circumstances, just dry conditions, it would’ve been a pretty boring race. Something like mandating the soft tyre for the sprint race and a bit more tyre deg, you’ve got to think about it a bit more, a bit more action.

"At the moment, you put the medium (on) and you’re just flat out the whole race, in a DRS train and there would’ve been nothing you could do.

“The most challenging part was coming out of the pitlane because we’re driving on the track and drying the track. No one is driving in the pitlane. So, the pitlane was the wettest point.”