Russell: 'Red Bull is holding back so the FIA is not going to stop them'

George Russell thinks Red Bull has not even shown the maximum yet. In the Chequered Flag podcast from the BBC, Russell says that in his opinion Max Verstappen and Red Bull can still show more on track, but that they are holding back to avoid the FIA calling them back.

Russell had a promising start to his race in Australia. At the start, the Mercedes driver immediately managed to pass Verstappen and take the lead in the race. However, his strategy was ruined by a red flag, and on lap 18 his race came to an abrupt end when flames burst out of his car.

With Russell gone, his teammate Lewis Hamilton still tried to fight Verstappen initially, but he soon had to give in. Verstappen then drove away at ease and managed to create a 12-second gap at one point. According to Russell, however, this is the sign that there is much more in the Red Bull than what Verstappen has shown so far.

'Max has no reason to push the limit'

"For sure they’re holding back," Russell claimed. "I think they are almost embarrassed to show their full potential because the faster they seem, the more that the sport is going to try and hold them back somehow. I think realistically they probably have seven-tenths advantage over the rest of the field. I don’t know what the pace difference looks like at the moment but Max has got no reason to be pushing it, nor has Red Bull. They’ve done a really great job to be fair to them. We can’t take that away, and we clearly have to up our game."