Could this Russell's drastic proposal fix chaotic starts in Mexico?

08:41, 07 Nov

Updated: 10:08, 07 Nov

byTobia Elia

George Russell has spoken out about the numerous track-excursions at Turn 1 at the start of the Mexican GP and how many drivers got away without any penalties.

“We briefly spoke about it before the race weekend. I personally think that corner just needs to change entirely”

- George Russell

Speaking to the media ahead of the Interlagos weekend, the Mercedes driver said he was surprised that so many drivers, including Max Verstappen himself, went unpunished after visibly cutting Turn 1 at the start.

“I was very, very surprised to see those drivers get away without penalty. I think when you look at Monza, if you miss the chicane you’ve got to go through the polystyrene blocks and you lose a lot of time.”

For Russell, the solution to this issue would be either to cover the Turn 1 area with gravel to discourage track-cutting or to completely redesign the first corner.

Photo: Race Pictures

“I think the only solution, unless you were to just gravel that whole section, would be… I personally don’t like that corner at all. I don’t think it’s good for racing.

“Turn two and turn three, there’s only one single racing line, so you can’t battle into turn one and then continue the battle down to turn four as you can at a circuit like Bahrain, as an example, when you can come cut back on somebody and you fight down to turn four.

“There’s no track limits issues, the race start is a hairpin, you will never cut the corner. So we actually briefly spoke about it before the race weekend. I personally think that corner just needs to change entirely.”

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Finally, reflecting on his race overall in Mexico, Russell admitted he was very frustrated — not just by what happened at Turn 1, but also by the battle between Hamilton and Verstappen, which ended up costing him two positions.

“I was pretty frustrated from the Lap 1 incident, then obviously got even more frustrated when Lewis and Max both went off and Max had to come back on track. I lost two positions, being in the wrong place at the wrong time from that, so I was very frustrated with how the race had panned out.”

Russell fumes after Mexico 'lawnmower race': 'A get-out-of-jail card'

The English driver has been one of the most vocal, alongside Fernando Alonso, in highlighting the issue of repeated track-limit violations at Turn 1 at the start of the Mexican GP.

Russell described what happened as “lawnmower racing,” saying it allows “you to risk everything, and you just have a get-out-of-jail-free card if you get it wrong.”

Turn 1 in Mexico also saw another very dangerous incident, with Liam Lawson narrowly avoiding marshals who had entered the track to clear debris. The New Zealander addressed the matter at the press conference in Interlagos, admitting he was surprised by the Mexican federation’s criticism.

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