JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Mercedes driver George Russell has called for transparency following a report that the president of Formula 1’s governing body intervened to overturn a penalty.
Russell finished fourth behind Fernando Alonso in last year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix but was briefly upgraded to third when Alonso was given a 10-second penalty because Aston Martin’s pit crew touched the car with a jack while serving an earlier penalty. That ruling was later overturned.
The BBC reported this week that FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem had called another senior FIA official to say he thought the penalty should be overturned. F1 is racing in Saudi Arabia again this week.
“We want to see all of the facts and just have total transparency, really. We are all racing here. We want a fair and level playing field for us to showcase what we can do,” said Russell, who is also a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, the body which represents the F1 drivers in dealings with the FIA and other organizations.
The BBC also reported an allegation this week that Ben Sulayem had told officials not to certify the circuit for last year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix. The FIA has confirmed it received a report “detailing potential allegations involving certain members of its governing body” but didn’t give any details or specify whether Ben Sulayem was involved.
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“We were surprised a year ago when the result got overturned,” Russell said. “The legal team, Mercedes thought they did a great job of presenting our case and initially winning the case and then losing it thereafter. So we just want to see transparency and have that opportunity to race on a level, fair playing field.”
Russell also said it would be “exciting” if three-time champion Max Verstappen joined Mercedes as his teammate for 2025 when Lewis Hamilton leaves to join Ferrari. Verstappen’s current team, Red Bull, is in turmoil over the role of team principal Christian Horner, who remains in charge after the team’s parent company last week dismissed a complaint of alleged misconduct by Horner toward a team employee. He has denied wrongdoing.
“I think any team wants to have the best driver lineup possible, and right now Max is the best driver on the grid, so if any team had a chance to sign Max, they would 100% be taking it,” Russell said. “So I think the question is more on the other side, on his side and on Red Bull’s side. Obviously there’s so much going on there. We don’t know what truly is going on behind closed doors, and ultimately it’s none of our business right now. I guess it would be exciting.”
Verstappen won the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix last week and favored to retain his title.
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