George Russell has accused Ferrari of being 'selfish' after the Italian team allegedly blocked a proposed change to Formula 1's start procedure. The Mercedes driver claimed that Ferrari, which excelled at race starts during the season opener in Melbourne, resisted an alteration that would have benefited the majority of the grid.
Speaking ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, Russell explained that a quirk in the rules regarding the harvest limit on the formation lap caused several drivers to struggle at the start in Australia. The issue particularly affected those starting at the front of the grid, including Russell himself, who said the problem led to a lack of power for burnouts.
Russell stated that the FIA wanted to adjust the procedure but needed a super majority of teams to approve the change, which they did not have. He suggested that Ferrari, having performed well at starts, was the team opposing the modification. 'I think they want to make a change but they need a super majority from the teams, which they don't have. So, you can probably guess which team is against that,' Russell said.
The Mercedes driver called Ferrari's stance 'a little bit silly' and 'selfish', adding that it was creating unnecessary complications. However, he expressed confidence that teams would adapt to the current rules. 'Now all the teams know the problem, we'll just drive around it,' he said.
Russell went on to detail the technical issue, explaining that the harvest limit on the formation lap reset for drivers starting at the back of the grid but not for those at the front. This caused a disparity in performance during race starts. Despite the setback, Russell and Mercedes are favourites for the Shanghai sprint weekend.
