George Russell condemned the 2025 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix format as “flawed”, highlighting that the local crowd are focused on “sipping champagne” than the action on track.
The Mercedes driver endured a frustrating afternoon, caught behind several traffic trains led by the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and the Williams duo.
Starting 14th on the grid, Russell quickly moved up to 13th but found himself stuck in the pack behind Lawson.
As the leaders made their mandatory stops, Mercedes kept both drivers out past halfway, but Williams soon played its strategic hand.
With Lawson holding up the pack to aid his team-mate, Sainz was soon told to help Albon’s progress in the race.
The Anglo-Thai racing driver returned the favour, holding Russell up before he decided to go straight on at the Nouvelle chicane.
He said over the radio he was forced to overtake the Williams, but when told to give the place back, he chose to accept the eventual penalty instead.
The stewards handed him a drive-through penalty, and after completing his two stops, Russell finished 11th.
Frustrated by flawed regulations, Russell delivered a scathing critique of the Monaco GP format, questioning its value and fan interest.
“We definitely need to have a real think about what the solution is here in Monaco,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“I appreciate trying something this year for two stops; clearly, it did not work at all.
“For all of the drivers, qualifying is the most exhilarating moment of the weekend.
“I think that’s what you guys enjoy watching the most, and 99 per cent of the other people in Monaco are here sipping champagne on the yacht, so they don’t really care.”
F1 cars would be helpless behind F2 machinery in Monaco
After last season’s race, Max Verstappen joked with Russell that they should go for a run after a rather uneventful Grand Prix, which saw no changes to the top 10 order.
In response, the FIA decided to enforce a two-pit stop strategy race to eradicate the problems of 2024; race leaders slowing on purpose and the absence of meaningful shifts among the race leaders.
The 27-year-old wasn’t pulling any punches this year, openly criticising the regulation changes following the race.
“No, I’m not talking about just the two-stop in general, it’s too easy to have Lawson [taking] the 40-second gap to help [Isack] Hadjar, and that was comfortable for him,” he explained.
“Then [Carlos] Sainz did another 40 seconds, driving four seconds off the pace here is dead easy.
“Our strategy said anything less than three seconds, the pace advantage is a zero per cent chance of an overtake.
“You need four and a half seconds for a 50 per cent chance of an overtake.
“So you effectively can put an F2 car out there and they’ve got a chance of holding up an F1 car.
“I don’t know what the solution is. We were lucky in ‘22 and ‘23 that the wet races offered some excitement.Do they wet the track? I don’t know.”
READ MORE – George Russell explains qualifying issue that’s put Monaco F1 GP ‘up in smoke’
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