George Russell Demands Change After F1 'Lawnmower' Race

Russell: "I don't understand how"

While not a part of the battle for the lead at the first corner as Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, and Max Verstappen went four-wide, Russell felt penalized by the fact that the Monegasque and Dutch drivers were able to miss the corner and not drop down the order.

Other drivers also failed to make the corner further in the pack, and speaking to Sky Sports UK, Russell said: “I don't understand how three drivers can cut the first corner and just continue in the position they entered.

“It's like, allowing you to risk everything, but you just have a get-out-of-jail-free card if you get it wrong."

Hamilton was the only driver to be penalized for cutting a corner and gaining an advantage in the race after a battle with Verstappen that saw the Red Bull driver also skip across the grass but evade punishment.

Asked of he felt the stewarding decisions were consistent, Russell replied: “Well, I think it holds me down to the circuit. You know, if there is this get-out-of-jail-free card… If there was gravel, no one would be there.

“You know, we've seen it almost every year we've been here. I think it was Carlos [Sainz] last year, Charles the year before, Lewis 10 years ago. It's like a lawnmower racing.

“Something needs to change there. Because as I said, if you can just send it down the outside, you can either make it stick or you just cut the grass and you return in the position you were in before. That's not really how it should be.”

Focusing on the Hamilton-Verstappen incident itself, which had consequences for Russell as he got caught up in the aftermath and lost out to Haas' Oliver Bearman and teammate Kimi Antonelli, he explained: "Max and Lewis, when they came together, Lewis got the penalty rightly so, but Max was off the track, came back on in the wrong place, wrong time for me, and I lost three positions.

“Obviously I was pretty frustrated, but it all stemmed from lap one.” He added that Verstappen "should have been penalized" for his actions, as well as Hamilton.