Mercedes’ George Russell accuses Ferrari and Red Bull of having ‘pushed the regulations’ in 2022 F1 season

George Russell has come out and said that both Ferrari and Red Bull have "pushed the regulations" in a way that was not intended while Mercedes hasn't. The British driver admitted that he was looking forward to the races after the summer break when the FIA's technical directive related to the use of a single plank floor will be introduced.

The technical directive is expected to affect teams like Red Bull and Ferrari that have a double plank system in place, while Mercedes, which uses a single plank system, won't need to change anything.

Speaking to the media after the race, George Russell said:

“Spa is going to be interesting. There’s some changes to some regulations which may bring other teams towards us. I think we, as a team, have a lot of confidence and faith in ourselves that we are doing a great job and there’s no reason why we can’t be in that mix. There’s no doubt Ferrari and Red Bull have pushed the regulations in that regard and we have respected it as the regulation was intended.’’

He continued:

“But there’s no guarantees that it will bring them closer to us. We know, if it was on our car, it would make us slower. Every car is different, but it’s not going to help them, that’s for sure.’’

George Russell also pointed out a clear improvement curve that the team has shown in recent races and hopes for better things to come in the future. He said:

“There’s no doubt we are making progress as a team. At the start of the season, we were finishing a minute behind the lead. Now it’s ten seconds in the last couple of races. If we can continue on that path, we will definitely be in the hunt.’’

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George Russell reflects on his second consecutive podium

George Russell reflected on another strong weekend in Hungary where he scored his first career pole position and was able to pick up his second consecutive podium after the one he secured in France. He said:

“I had a really strong start, and it was a first good stint. We pitted quite early on both stints and tried to keep the tyres out until the end, as well as pushing as fast as possible at the same time. Towards the end on the mediums when the rain started to come down, I struggled and lost temperature. It was challenging to manage the tyres, so there’s lots to look into and see where we could’ve done better.’’

George Russell now finds himself fourth in the standings, ahead of Carlos Sainz from Ferrari, in what has been a very consistent start to life at Mercedes for the young driver.