George Russell brands the F1’s new $1 million fine structure ‘ridiculous and obscene’
Russell thinks of the decision as outrageous for new drivers.
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George Russell (via IMAGO)
The Mercedes driver George Russell shared his view on the news of FIA raising the maximum fine for drivers from €250,000 to a million euros. Russell labeled the federation’s decision as ‘ridiculous and obscene’. He said this amount is outrageous for drivers who are just starting out Grand Prix racing and don’t even make money anything close to that.
Just like Lewis Hamilton, Russell also demands transparency from the governing body, over where would these fines be used. Russell is confident that there’s no point chunking out huge amounts of money from drivers that wouldn’t be put to good use further down the ladder. According to the Brit, the point is definitely going to be raised in the Friday driver briefing.
In the Thursday driver meeting, Russell said, “I think it’s pretty ridiculous that a driver could be fined €1m.” he told the media.“In my first year of Formula 1, I was on a five-figure salary and actually lost over six figures in that first year from paying for my trainer, paying for flights, and paying for an assistant. And that’s probably the case for 25% of the grid.”
Further, Russell emphasizes that transparency builds trust between FIA and drivers as he thinks fines are getting excessive. He suggests if a €1m fine benefits the sport, a well-paid driver might be willing to pay it.
Also read: Lewis Hamilton makes transparency demands as FIA raises maximum fine limit to $1 million
Kevin Magnussen, Charles Leclerc, and Max Verstappen criticize the FIA’s increased fine decision
FIA’s decision to raise the maximum fine limit was not welcomed by everyone. Particularly, Haas driver Kevin Magnussen found the idea of a €1 million penalty absurd. He humorously suggested that Charles could give away his watch, but he’d vanish forever if faced with such a penalty.
Unsure about what caused this decision, the now-tripe World Champ Max Verstappen joked, that if they can be fined €50K for touching a rear wing, then he’d like to know what one million is. He thinks these numbers are getting plucked out of the air and presented to the drivers.
During Thursday’s driver meeting, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari expressed his astonishment, mentioning that he couldn’t understand why a €1 million penalty would be justified, especially considering that some drivers earn less than that, making it a substantial sum.
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Syed Talib Haider
(1039 Articles Published)