Russell defends FIA over F1 penalty stance

George Russell believes discussions surrounding the increasingly contentious F1 driver guidelines are moving in the right direction.

The 26-year-old has maintained the driver briefing held before the Mexico City Grand Prix was a "positive" one, despite there being a solitary hold-out in wanting to implement new standards immediately, as opposed to waiting until next season.

The Briton pointed to the stewards' decisions during the race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez to hand Max Verstappen two 10-second time penalties for his on-track conduct when racing against Lando Norris.

Russell, who is also a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), did, however, concede that some "element of interpretation" needs to be "cleaned up a little" within the rules.

"If you look at what happened on Sunday in the race, you would argue that the meeting was positive because actions that should have been punished were punished," the Mercedes driver told media including RacingNews365.

"I think everybody agreed what needs to change. Maybe the only disagreement was when. The majority said, 'Let's just make the change now'; some said, 'Let's wait until next year'.

"But if you read the rules, there are lines, let's say, if you're driving erratically or dangerously, you'll be punished.

"And you can argue if a driver out-brakes himself and doesn't make the corner on the exit, that is erratic because you're driving off the racetrack.

"So there is an element of interpretation there. For sure it does need to be cleaned up a little."

Verstappen penalty would have happened regardless

Prior to the round in Mexico City, the debate surrounding driving standards, and the racing guidelines that govern wheel-to-wheel combat in F1, was re-ignited by the late-race battle between Verstappen and Norris in Austin.

However, Russell feels that even without the conversation that incident triggered, the Red Bull driver's move on the McLaren at Turn 8 last weekend still would have been punished.

"At the end of the day, every incident is different," he explained. "If there were no discussions prior to Mexico, I don't ever see a scenario where the incident at Turn 8 would have gone unpunished.

"What happened in Austin, you can argue both drivers were in the wrong.

"But yeah, for sure, now things are evolving, and you need... It's like the safety of the cars. You need a bad accident to happen before you make the real progress.

"And it's the same with the driving regulations. You need something or decisions to be incorrect, or things to be pushed beyond its limit, before you realise change needs to happen."