Russell Critical Of Maximum Fine Increase: "Plucked Out Of The Air"

Sunday, 12 November 2023 at 17:00

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Mercedes F1 driver George Russell has given his opinion on the recent maximum fine increase from 250,000 to 1,000,000 euros.

FIA announced ahead of the 2023 United States Grand Prix that it has been decided the maximum fine for F1 drivers will increase from 250,000 to 1,000,000 euros.

This change was met with critical reactions from multiple F1 drivers like Max Verstappen, Kevin Magnussen, Charles Leclerc, and Lewis Hamilton.

Mercedes driver George Russell also shared his opinion, saying he thought the fines were already "out of control" before they increased to even higher numbers. As quoted by RacingNews365, he said:

"I think already the fines are getting out of control. You know how Verstappen got fined €50,000 for touching a car, Lewis being fined €50,000 (for crossing the track in Qatar, although half was suspended for 12 months)."

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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff also shared his opinion on the fine increase, saying, "We need to do a reality check." Russell points towards wider global issues.

"It feels like these numbers have been plucked out of the air. There's a lot of greater global issues going on. So much poverty around the world. [I don't understand] how a federation can just make up these fines of six figures, seven-figure fines."

Leclerc was one of the drivers who pointed out that not everybody on the grid would be able to afford to pay such a high amount. Russell estimated it would be around 40% of the drivers.

"I would say there's probably 40 per cent of the grid are making less than this maximum fine [of €1m]. That's income and not taking into consideration the outgoings, the travelling around the world the people you need as part of your team. It's pretty obscene."

FIA president Ben Sulayem recently responded to complaints, saying the previous maximum fine was set ages ago, and there needed to be an update. He added nobody would get fined if they followed the rules.