George Russell issues 'conversations needed' warning over driver health concerns
George Russell issues 'conversations needed' warning over driver health concerns
George Russell believes F1 may be forced to hold "conversations" about the current era of cars after raising further concerns over the health of the drivers.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix practice saw widespread porpoising throughout the field, with Mercedes again at the more severe end of the scale as Russell and Lewis Hamilton were rattled around in the cockpit of their W13s.
Russell complained of back and chest pains earlier this season due to the aggressive bouncing, with team-mate Hamilton raising similar concerns after Friday's running in Baku.
After the Silver Arrows duo finished only seventh and 12th in FP2, Russell said: "It was a tricky day and clearly we weren't as competitive as we'd have liked to be.
"It's a tricky track to get the tyres switched on and in the right window. You saw a number of other drivers set their fastest times right at the end of a run, whereas Ferrari and Red Bull seem able to just turn it on.
"At the moment, they have an inherently quicker car than us and we're doing everything we can to catch up.
"If we're on top of the tyres we're definitely not going to be able to fully close that gap. They're just too far ahead.
"That's probably 50 per cent of our issue. The rest is just the lack of performance we have at the moment."
Russell raised concerns over the bouncing of the cars in pre-season testing and called for a return to active suspension to help ease the vigour of the oscillations.
Other teams have also suffered from horrific porpoising down the long start-finish straight, with Pierre Gasly labelling his ride as "absolutely shocking".
Grand Prix Drivers' Associaton director Russell continued his complaints, adding: "Now with the cars are running so close to the ground, in the high-speed corners the cars are fully bottoming out and it's the same for everybody. It's really not comfortable to drive.
"I don't know what the future holds for this era of cars but I can't see us running like this for the next four years so, for all of us, conversations will be needed as we're all in the same boat."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Chinese Grand Prix Sprint 2024 results: Hamilton gets best result of year as Ferraris CLASH
- 1 hour ago
F1 News Today: FIA investigate F1 star as Ferraris clash at Chinese GP
- 3 minutes ago
F1 Chinese Grand Prix weather forecast - latest today from Shanghai
- 1 hour ago
Hamilton dealt China blow after major FIA decision as Ricciardo given huge Horner warning - GPFans F1 Recap
- Yesterday 23:57
F1 team unveil star-studded lineup in China
- Yesterday 23:12
F1 Qualifying Today: Chinese Grand Prix 2024 start times, schedule and TV
- Yesterday 22:27
Related news
Top exciting Red Bull junior team drivers who could REPLACE De Vries
Best EVER start to a season and unwanted Ferrari records – Azerbaijan GP stats and facts
Wolff reveals rivalry Verstappen will NEVER shake after Russell clash
Marko slams 'FORCEFUL' move that sparked Azerbaijan GP outrage
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860