Williams would be 'made to look stupid and eaten alive' with reverse grid races - Russell

Change your timezone:
Williams would be 'made to look stupid and eaten alive' with reverse grid races - Russell
The Briton is firmly against the proposal
George Russell has reiterated his anti-reverse grid stance as he feels Williams would be "made to look stupid" with Formula 1's proposal.
The topic of reverse grids was reignited last weekend following Pierre Gasly's shock victory at Monza, a race that at one point featured an AlphaTauri, a Racing Point, two McLarens and an Alfa Romeo in the top six.
But even though his Williams team could stand to profit by scoring points, Russell stood firm on his beliefs, claiming such an idea would be more appealing the further up the grid you look.
"I am against it," he said. "The fact is, we are in one of the slowest cars on the grid and we would sort of get eaten alive.
"We will be defending like crazy to try and hold the faster cars off who are behind us, but as drivers, we will be made to look a little bit stupid because ultimately you will be battling against guys who will be in cars much, much quicker than yours.
"They can brake 10 metres later into a corner and lunge you from really far back. If I was in one of the top cars, I would really, really want it because it would make those drivers look like heroes, lunging from miles back purely because they are in a superior car."
Although Russell acknowledged he would "probably get some points" if the reverse grids were implemented, he concluded the change would actually be of detriment to the team's image.
"Obviously, I know we would probably get some points or get a good result at some point with a reverse grid," he continued.
"But for our image, not just me and Nicholas [Latifi] but the Haas guys, the Alfa Romeo guys, it is just impossible racing cars that are so much faster than yours. That's where I stand."
Before you go...
Mercedes to honour Ferrari with red safety car
Five things to expect from the inaugural Tuscan Grand Prix
Related
More F1 news
Latest F1 news
Recommended by the editors
Japanese Grand Prix
Journalists call for FIA action after Max Verstappen kicked reporter out at Japanese Grand Prix
Japanese Grand Prix
Ollie Bearman Suzuka crash shouldn't have happened, and everyone in F1 knows it
Japanese Grand Prix
F1 Japanese Grand Prix 2026 results: Final classification with penalties applied
F1 News & Gossip
FIA announce meeting over controversial F1 regulations following terrifying crash

Change your timezone:
Latest News
Journalists call for FIA action after Max Verstappen kicked reporter out at Japanese Grand Prix
- 47 minutes ago
MotoGP world champion crashes out AFTER winning race
- 1 hour ago
'I've given up': Aston Martin Newey replacement saga leaves F1 star exhausted
- 1 hour ago
Fernando Alonso blasts new F1 regulations: 'Overtakes are unintentional'
- 2 hours ago
Audi F1 star reacts to shock team boss exit: 'He couldn't commit'
- 2 hours ago
Ollie Bearman Suzuka crash shouldn't have happened, and everyone in F1 knows it
- 3 hours ago
Most read
Lewis Hamilton Chinese GP disqualification a watershed moment for Ferrari
- 14 march
FIA storm after Mercedes F1 disqualification verdict
- 26 march
FIA president receives official letter from 20 drivers demanding change including former F1 stars
- 18 march
Max Verstappen disqualified from Nurburgring race hours after huge win
- 21 march
Max Verstappen Nurburgring Results: NLS2 Qualifying times and grid order
- 21 march
F1 News Today: Max Verstappen left laughing as Mercedes announce new team principal role
- 21 march
Related news
Why George Russell would be a useless poker player...in 0.2 seconds
George Russell in demand as TWO teams look to pry F1 star away from Mercedes
F1 star in savage jibe after being caught out by team principal
Williams announce major rival swoop as F1 stalwart with ‘unfinished business’ confirms return
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Lewis Hamilton
- Charles Leclerc
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Franco Colapinto
- Pierre Gasly
- Isack Hadjar
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Carlos Sainz
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli
- George Russell
- Oliver Bearman
- Esteban Ocon
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Liam Lawson
- Arvid Lindblad
- Gabriel Bortoleto
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Valtteri Bottas
- Sergio Pérez
Races
-
Grand Prix of Australia 2026
-
Grand Prix of China 2026
-
Grand Prix of Japan 2026
-
Grand Prix of Bahrain 2026
-
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2026
-
Miami Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix du Canada 2026
-
Grand Prix De Monaco 2026
-
Gran Premio de Barcelona-Catalunya 2026
-
Grand Prix of Austria 2026
-
Grand Prix of Great Britain 2026
-
Grand Prix of Belgium 2026
-
Grand Prix of Hungary 2026
-
Dutch Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix of Italy 2026
-
Gran Premio de España 2026
-
Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2026
-
Grand Prix of Singapore 2026
-
Grand Prix of the United States 2026
-
Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2026
-
Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2026
-
Las Vegas Grand Prix 2026
-
Qatar Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2026
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Editorial & corporate information
Avenue HQ
10–12 East Parade
Leeds
LS1 2BH
United Kingdom Regional correspondence
View contact page
Realtimes Network
- Authors
- Privacy and Terms
- RSS
- Contact
- Advertise
- Android
- iOS
- Publishing principles
- Corrections policy
- Ownership & funding
- F1 Tickets
- Privacy
Copyright (©) 2017 - 2026 GPFans.com
Realtimes Network












