George Russell hints at ‘selfish’ teams blocking tweak to ‘quirky’ energy rule
George Russell has explained why he believes several teams did not make the most of the start in Australia.
George Russell revealed his belief that many of his rivals were caught out at the start in Melbourne over the weekend, due to a “very quirky rule” taking effect on the formation lap.
Cars have an energy harvesting limit around the lap – set at 8MJ in Melbourne – which then resets upon crossing the finish line. This then meant drivers towards the front of the grid, as was the case with Russell, used a significant portion of his available energy harvesting capacity during the formation lap and race start.
George Russell explains ‘very quirky’ F1 energy harvesting rule
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Russell was passed into Turn 1 by the fast-starting Charles Leclerc at the season opener, and while the Mercedes pair overcame the Ferrari duo to secure a 1-2 finish to begin 2026, the Briton revealed that he could not do tyre burnouts as he had hoped to gain tyre temperature, due to this rule.
The regulation is currently of benefit for any drivers to start behind the timing line, which sits behind the start/finish line on the grid. As Russell explained it, that reset effectively allows extra energy recharge and usage as the harvesting limit resets, meaning more energy will be both charged and available for deployment on the first lap.
Russell revealed that the FIA has been looking to adjust the energy harvesting rule to level the playing field at starts, but with a supermajority needed to pass such a rule change, that is not something the governing body currently possesses, according to the Mercedes driver.
Asked if he had any concerns around start safety in Shanghai, Russell explained: “Well, I think there was an error that caught a lot of teams out, which was the harvest limit on the formation lap. A very quirky rule.
“Every lap, there’s a harvest limit. The drivers who started in the first half of the grid who were beyond the timing line, they were already within that lap. So when you did your formation lap starts, you’re spending your battery and you’re charging your battery which goes towards your harvest limit. The drivers at the back, when they did their formation lap from the start, they then launch away. They cross the start/finish line, and then it resets, because they’re effectively on the next lap.
“So from what we did in the practice starts, we did the launch before this line, and it reset.
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“And on the race start, I started from pole, I went on the throttle. I charged the battery, but it took, like, 50% of my harvest limit of that lap. So, when I got halfway around the track, I could no longer charge the battery. I had no power to do proper burnouts.
“The FIA were looking to potentially adjust that but, as you can imagine, some teams who are making good starts didn’t want it, which I think is just a little bit silly. I’m not overly concerned, but it’s definitely a challenge.”
George Russell: ‘Selfish views’ preventing FIA rule change
When questioned further on the implications of such a rule on the grid, Russell played down a further impact as teams gather knowledge on how to tackle the issue.
While confirming the FIA had wanted to adjust the regulation, Russell hinted at fast-starting teams such as Ferrari, or the Ferrari-powered teams, being against such a change, preventing the required supermajority to push it through.
Dubbing the blockage of change ‘selfish views’ from those involved, he added that characteristic is a prerequisite of being on the Formula 1 grid.
He confirmed Mercedes now know what to look out for at the start procedure, and the Chinese Grand Prix should present less of a challenge than what was faced in Melbourne.
“I think they want to [help], but they need a supermajority from the teams which they don’t have,” Russell said of the FIA, “so you can probably guess which team is against that.
“I don’t think their gain is coming from this issue. Now, all the teams know the problem. We’ll just drive around it, but it’s just creating a bit of unnecessary complications to something that doesn’t really need to be there.
“As I said, half the grid messed up in Melbourne. We’ll adjust. We know what we need to be wary of now.
“The FIA did just want to make our life easier and just remove this harvest limit but, as often, people have selfish views and they want to do what’s best for themselves, and that’s a part of Formula 1 and part of the challenge of Formula 1.
“We’ll deal with it, and I think the starts here will be much better.”
Additional reporting by Mat Coch and Thomas Maher
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