"Racing is a very dynamic sport"- Mercedes' George Russell calls for "a bit more open-mindedness" in FIA race direction while implementing F1 rules 

George Russell feels the new F1 race directors are implementing the rules but need to be more open-minded. The Briton also reckons stewards need to be more consistent and vigilant in implementing penalties in a sport as complicated and 'dynamic' as F1.

Speaking during a media session, including Sportskeeda, the Briton said that the regulations in the sport need to evolve. He added that the new race directors have been purely focused on sticking to the rulebook, but they need to be more 'open-minded'.

“I think the feeling is they're doing a good job of sticking to the letter of the law," said Russell. "But sometimes, as we've said, things need to evolve. And I do think we need a bit more open-mindedness between all of us, not just the race director, but we need to work together on this."

He added:

"And we need to evolve that set of regulations. And we need to work together to do that. Just because there's a regulation, that doesn't mean that it's the right regulation.”

Suggesting that stewards need to be consistent, Russell cited an incident in Austria where he deserved a penalty but was not penalised. He said:

“For example, with my incident with Checo (Perez) last week, to the letter of the law, I was in the wrong, and I deserved the penalty. But I knew as soon as he turned in from the outside, he was ahead of me, he turned in, I knew I was just going to understeer into him. And there's nothing more I could do."

George Russell added:

"And racing is a very dynamic sport, you just need to – I don't want to say look at case by case – but it's not quite as simple as saying this is what it says in the regulations, and this is what we're going to stick to when it's a battle, as such.”

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George Russell reckons track limits need to be policed carefully

George Russell feels that track limits are a subject where both race direction and drivers need to be on the same page. There needs to be a consensus between the two about where track limits can be imposed and where they can’t.

When it comes to policing the track limits, the Mercedes driver reckons it's necessary to have proper guidelines that define penalties for violating such limits. Like Christian Horner, George Russell suggested that the French GP weekend could be worse than Austria in terms of track limits. He said:

“You can't have drivers just running wild and doing what they want. But when you go to Austria and those kerbs are as flat as a pancake, and you've got to judge a white line when the car is rolled and loaded, and you can't feel a white line? So, yeah, I don't know what the future holds."

George Russell added that guidelines cannot be 'black and white' and also drew a parallel with the rules regarding tackling in football:

"It's going to be another difficult race weekend. As long as we're all on the same page, there's no issue. But I think we're just working collectively at the moment to try and get us to that one page whereas we're not there at the moment."

He added:

"I wouldn't necessarily compare it to football, but every case is different. In football you can't say if a player tackles in this certain manner, he's going to get a yellow card, because every single tackle is different. And they try to have a guideline as such, but not necessarily black and white, you can tackle like this, or you can't tackle like that.”

Track limits have been a hot topic of discussion after many drivers were penalised with deleted track time and penalties in practice sessions, qualifying and racing. Most drivers have been vocal about their opinions, which has also led to heated driver briefings with the new race directors.