George Russell makes 'change entirely' demand after F1 rivals penalty escape

George Russell has called on the promoters of the Mexico City Grand Prix to make a dramatic change to the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez following the frustration that boiled over at the start of the race.

Mercedes driver Russell was left incensed by the fact that, in racing into Turn 1, Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in his Ferrari both cut across the grass before re-emerging on track at Turn 3. He described both cars as "going lawnmower racing".

Although positions were handed back and the incidents reviewed, no penalties were awarded, much to Russell's bitter frustration, which was maintained throughout the grand prix, given the tone of his radio messages on occasion with race engineer Marcus Dudley.

Russell has a solution for that particular section of track, which he feels needs a revamp.

Ahead of this weekend's São Paulo Grand Prix, and reflecting further on what unfolded in Mexico City, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365, Russell said: "I was very, very surprised to see those drivers get away without a penalty.

"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.

"I think the only solution, unless you want to 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 2 and Turn 3, there's only one single racing line, so you can't battle into Turn 1 and then continue to battle down to Turn 4, as you can at a circuit like Bahrain, as an example.

"When you can cut back on somebody and you fight down to Turn 4, there are no track-limits issues. The race start, as it's a hairpin, you will never cut the corner.

"We actually briefly spoke about it before the race weekend. Personally, I think that corner needs to change entirely."

'You never expect to see someone on track'

Russell also expressed a degree of sympathy for Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson and his horrifying encounter with two marshals on track who were clearing debris off the circuit.

Lawson had pitted early for a new front wing following a collision with Williams' Carlos Sainz. When he emerged from the pits, and despite a double-waved yellow flag situation, the New Zealander came across the two marshals, exclaiming over the radio that he could have killed them.

Mexico City GP organisers later issued a statement blaming Lawson, only to be exonerated by a follow-up statement from the FIA.

As to whether the drivers will raise the matter with the FIA and discuss further, Russell said: "From what I understand, the FIA think he did nothing wrong, so it's not really an issue that we need to raise. It's more the FIA dealing with the circuit.

"As a driver, there are a lot of things you need to deal with when you're on track. People think you're often looking forward, but you are often changing switch settings if it's a yellow flag, or you're checking your delta. There are many things.

"But you never expect to see someone on track."