George Russell rages at 'lawnmower race' in 'get-out-of-jail-free card' rant

George Russell was furious after the Mexico City Grand Prix, with the British driver aggrieved by the chaos and "lawnmower" tactics of his F1 rivals.

The Mercedes driver lamented the "get-out-of-jail-free card" bestowed to drivers at the opening corner of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, which routinely sees multiple cars take to the grass on the first lap.

Having started fourth, the Mercedes driver was overtaken by Max Verstappen on the run down to Turn 1. When they arrived, the Dutchman and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc cut across to Turn 3.

The pair where joined by Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes, who briefly ended up ahead of his team-mate before letting him back through.

Speaking to Sky Sport F1 after the 71-lap race, Russell said: "I don’t understand how three drivers can cut the first corner and just continue in the position they entered.

"It’s like allowing you to risk everything, and you just have a get-out-of-jail-free card if you get it wrong."

Then, on lap six, more chaos ensued with Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton fighting for third, going off-track at Turn 2 and Turn 4, respectively.

Russell, who was in fifth, got caught up in the melee and tumbled down to seventh, behind Ollie Bearman and Antonelli.

"Obviously, when Max and Lewis came together, Lewis got a penalty and rightly so – but Max was off the track and came back on," the five-time grand prix winner said.

"It was the wrong place and the wrong time for me, and I lost three [two] positions. Obviously, I was pretty frustrated, but it all stemmed from lap one."

'Like a lawnmower race'

At the time, Russell likened the mess to his first karting race and soon took his anger out over team radio, arguing Antonelli should move aside to let him attack Bearman with his superior pace, which Mercedes ultimately agreed to despite a costly delay of a few laps.

He could not find a way past the Haas and was overtaken late in the race by the charging Oscar Piastri.

Mercedes took the opportunity to switch its drivers back again, consigning Russell to seventh place, where he finished, ahead of the penalty-impacted Hamilton.

"Ultimately, it’s down to the circuit, and there is this get-out-of-jail-free card. If there was gravel, then nobody would be there," the 27-year-old added in his critique of the track.

"We’ve seen it almost every year we’ve been here. It was Carlos last year and Charles the year before or Lewis 10 years ago. It’s like a lawnmower race. Something needs to change there. That’s not really how it should be."