Russell calls on F1 to set crucial precedent

George Russell has stated F1 must set a precedent for racing rules and penalty points for its junior categories.

Last month, Kevin Magnussen became the first F1 driver to receive a race ban after accumulating too many penalty points under the system that was first introduced in 2014.

The Dane received 12 penalty points across the last 12 months and sat out the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, replaced by Oliver Bearman.

With Magnussen becoming the first driver to be banned under the system, Russell called the practicality of the structure into question. 

“It’s a conversation that's been had a number of times in previous years as drivers have sailed close to the wind,” Russell told media including RacingNews365.

“No one's been banned in 12 years, so you could argue, were the penalty points actually harsh enough?”

'You need to be punished'

Magnussen also voiced some of the penalty points that led to his ban were undeserved, while suggesting F1 should do away with the accumulative penalty point system.

Russell asserted the importance of implementing a consistent treatment of on-track incidents that can also be enforced across the junior categories.

“You could argue his penalty points from Monza seemed a little bit harsh, but you could also argue, some of the other incidents, [the penalties] perhaps were not harsh enough,” he stated.

“Also, we need to set a bit of a precedent for the junior series. 

“They look up to us in F4, F3, F2 and you shouldn't be allowed to get away with dangerous or erratic driving and at some point you do need to be punished for it.”