George Russell is concerned about the top speed of future Formula 1 single-seaters, which must be higher according to the regulations published this Thursday. The Mercedes F1 driver believes that safety needs to be rethought, because the speeds reached exceptionally now will be normal, according to him.
“Cars will take a significant turn in terms of performance” Russell said. “They will be exceptionally fast on the straights, probably 360 km/h on most circuits, which is quite impressive. Obviously safety needs to be improved, because an accident at 360 or 370 km/h, It’s a bit crazy.”
“When it comes to safety, unfortunately, history has taught us that incidents have to happen before changes are made. Everyone has to do a thorough job before these regulations come into effect, because the cars will be very fast.”
“The cars will have so little downforce on the straights that they will feel like they are flying. You can imagine a race where it starts to rain, where you are on slick tires and you are going at 370 km/h on time on a street circuit.”
“It’s not an ideal situation to be in, so these questions need to be answered. To be fair to the FIA, they are fully aware of the situation, they are monitoring it and they are looking at all possible scenarios of what could happen.”
“Time will tell, but the cars are already damn fast. Where are we going to stop? Are we going to hit 400 kilometers per hour? Do the fans really need or want to see that?”
Russell believes that the goal of having more spectacle can be achieved without taking risks, and that one must know how to compromise to find the right balance and encourage intense fights.
“From a driving point of view, you want the fastest cars, you want to feel like you’re in a fighter jet and in 2020 and 2021, that’s what it felt like, and now these cars become very fast again. It would be a shame to lose some of the car’s performance.”
“But on the other hand, it will improve the show if there is less downforce and less dirty air. You can’t have everything and you have to choose your battles. What do we want obtain? For me, the races must be good and difficult, and the competition must be strong, ideally, between each team and each driver.
