"We don't want to be dishing out penalties left, right and centre"- Mercedes' George Russell finds F1 circuits to be the 'root cause' of multiple track limit penalties

Mercedes driver George Russell is the latest to call for greater consistency from the FIA regarding track limits. The Briton feels the root cause of the multiple track limit penalties dished out at the 2022 Austrian GP was the lack of consistent governance from the FIA.

Russell criticized the FIA for its poor governance at the 2022 Austrian GP, claiming its lack of consistency was the primary reason for the 43 track limit violations that were recorded in Austria. The driver compared Turns 1 and 4 of the Red Bull Ring, claiming there would be no track limit issues at the latter given the gravel trap right outside the white lines.

George Russell told the media after the race:

“We don’t want to be dishing out penalties left, right and centre, but there needs to be an element of consistency somewhere. I think we need to look at the root cause of issues and, with these track limits offences, the issue is the circuit. We’re never going to solve this issue until you solve the circuit, and Turn 4 here in Austria, you’ll never have that issue [with the gravel there], but compare that with Turn 1, you’ll always have the issue.’’

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George Russell feels F1 needs to return to a single Race Director

Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich have jointly taken the place of former race director Michael Masi, who was relinquished from his position after the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP debacle.

Freitas and Wittich rotate in their roles from race to race, a move that has been criticized by many drivers, including George Russell. The Mercedes driver feels the addition of an extra race director adds to the ever-growing policing inconsistency the sport has been facing in recent times.

Russell told the media:

“I do agree that we need to stick with one Race Director. We need to have more consistency with the stewarding’’

He further said:

“We come to the following event, and often the steward from the previous event is not there, so there’s no accountability, no explanations of decisions. We ask questions and it’s difficult to get a straightforward answer because – I wouldn’t say the blame, but the blame is put onto someone else who isn’t there. It is tricky, everybody has their own interpretations.’’

George Russell is currently fifth in the Driver Standings, just five points behind Carlos Sainz. But with his teammate Lewis Hamilton slowly getting more and more comfortable in his W13, Russell is going to have to fight hard to maintain his position in the Driver Standings.