"I thought he did his best to climb the inside kerb and give space"- Mercedes' George Russell's penalty at 2022 F1 Austrian GP was on the 'harsh side,' feels Martin Brundle

Former F1 driver and long-time commentator Martin Brundle believes that the stewards were “harsh” on George Russell at the 2022 Austrian GP last weekend, when they slapped the Briton with a five-second penalty for a first lap incident with Sergio Perez.

Since Turn 4 at the Red Bull Ring, where the incident occurred, features a blind apex that is tricky to hit even at the best of times, Brundle felt that Perez’s move around the outside was extremely risky. Furthermore, the Briton felt that Russell had given Perez as much space as he could, given that both were carrying a full load of fuel and were on cold tires.

In his column for Sky Sports, the former F1 driver wrote:

“I thought Russell's penalty for contact with Sergio Perez on the opening lap in Turn 4 was on the harsh side.”

He further wrote:

“At the start of the race, laden with fuel and with front tyres not fully up to temperature, you’ll always understeer wide in Turn 4, and going around the outside there is a very high-risk strategy, especially given the ever-tightening exit.”

He added:

“I thought George did his best to climb the inside kerb and give space, and there was further space to the outside for Sergio.”

Starting in P5 behind George Russell following his recovery drive in Sprint, Sergio Perez sought to pass the Mercedes driver within the first lap to aid his teammate Max Verstappen in the battle against the Ferrari pair.

Perez got an excellent drive out of Turn 3 and was briefly ahead of Russell by the time they arrived at Turn 4, but since the latter had covered the inside line, Perez hung around the outside only for the Mercedes to understeer and tip him into the gravel.

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George Russell’s Austrian GP penalty “inexplicable”, says F1TV pundit

Former F1 driver and regular F1TV analyst Jolyon Palmer has labeled the stewards' decision to hand out a five-second penalty to George Russell for pushing Sergio Perez wide at the Austrian GP as “inexplicable.”

Palmer believes that the outcome of the incident influenced the stewards in their decision, more than the infringement itself, since Perez’s race was effectively ruined by the incident. In his analysis of the incident for F1’s official social media channels, Palmer said:

“The stewards, in my mind, inexplicably gave Russell a penalty. I think that's because of the outcome rather than the actual infringement.”

He further said:

“I think that’s because you’ve got one driver spinning off backwards in the gravel, and you’ve got Russell on the inside who managed to carry on. That must be the reasoning of the stewards.”

The stewards' decision to penalize Russell is inconsistent with past precedents which viewed all first lap incidents as "racing incidents," since it’s much easier to make mistakes given that the field is closely bunched up.