George Russell retained his podium finish in the 2025 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix after Red Bull’s post-race protest was rejected by the stewards.
The Mercedes driver finished ahead of Max Verstappen to clinch a third-place finish after a Virtual Safety Car played to his advantage.
Starting the race from fifth, Russell opted to stay out longer whilst the Dutchman pitted on Lap 26 from third for the Hard tyre.
One lap later, the Haas of Oliver Bearman pulled to the side of the track with an engine issue, with the race stewards deciding to call a VSC.
This allowed Russell to make his first stop whilst the other drivers adhered to the delta time, with the Briton emerging from the pits ahead of Verstappen.
With Verstappen hot on the 27-year-old’s tail, another VSC was called for the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto, who also retired with a mechanical issue.
He asked if Russell lifted for the yellow flags, as Red Bull later took it to the stewards, but the stewards dismissed the protest and the Briton kept third.
Afterwards, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner offered his insight as to why the team lodged an appeal.
“We’re not purporting or suggesting that there’s anything illegal on the car – we felt that George Russell has done something that is in breach of the regs in the way that they’re written,” Horner told media including Motorsport Week.
“So that’s why we put a protest in today, because, more than anything, you want clarity, the regulations say there should be a reduction in speed.
“It doesn’t talk about a lift, it doesn’t talk about time off the top, it talks about a reduction in speed.
“We very clearly did that, and that was why Max flagged it immediately from what he saw in the cockpit.”
FIA stewards clear up Russell lifting incident
According to the International Sporting Code, under a single yellow flag, drivers must “reduce your speed, do not overtake, and be prepared to change direction if there is a hazard beside or partly on the track.”
It also states that: “It must be evident that a driver has reduced speed; this means a driver is expected to have braked earlier and/or noticeably reduced speed in that sector.”
A slight change to the sporting regulations, however, now states that: “Any driver passing through a waved yellow flag marshalling sector must reduce their speed and be prepared to change direction.
“In order for the stewards to be satisfied that any such driver has complied with these requirements they are expected to have braked earlier and/or discernibly reduced speed in the relevant marshalling sector.”
Whilst Red Bull acknowledged that Russell had lifted, the team felt that he had not considerably reduced his speed according to the rules.
Meanwhile, Mercedes’ defence was that lifting the throttle was sufficient enough to respect the yellow flag and that he had lifted noticeably more than other drivers.
The FIA ruled in the German squad’s favour, determining that Russell was significantly slower than his regular racing speed.
The stewards reviewed telemetry and confirmed Russell lifted by 25 per cent, with a 30 per cent drop in torque.
Although Russell’s absolute speed increased in the sector, the stewards ruled that yellow flag compliance depends on slowing relative to normal racing speed.
“The reduction of the absolute speed can, depending on the part of the track in which the yellow flag is displayed, represent a compliance or a non-compliance with the regulations, whereas a reduction of the relative speed always signals that the driver has acknowledged and respected the yellow flag.
“For instance, in a braking zone, the absolute speed can be reduced without necessarily complying with the regulations.”
READ MORE – George Russell retains podium in Miami as Red Bull protest rejected
