George Russell says it is “not right” that Mercedes’ rivals are trying to slow them down after their front wing came under the spotlight ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.
Russell and team-mate Kimi Antonelli have each won a Grand Prix this season, both fending off early Ferrari challenges before dominating the remainder of the race. But video of Antonelli’s maiden F1 win in China has drawn attention because his front wing did not appear to fully close under braking in the footage.
Under the new 2026 regulations, the front and rear wings open on designated straights in Straight Line Mode and must close when the driver brakes. F1’s technical rules state the transition time between the wings opening and closing must be no longer than 0.4 seconds. Antonelli’s front wing in China seemed not to fully close immediately during braking and appeared beyond the 0.4-second limit in the video.
The FIA has spoken with Mercedes, who say it was not deliberate and may have been caused by forces. Russell, who leads Antonelli by four points in the Drivers’ Championship, said: “It wasn’t intentional, and I don’t think it’s not an advantage, for sure. It’s actually a problem, so something we’re trying to solve. It isn’t a straightforward solution, but there is definitely no advantage to that because when we brake, the front wing is still open. Kimi had the lock up [towards the end of the race]. I think this was a contribution to the front wing, so it’s definitely not intentional.”
Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok added that teams will be watching Mercedes closely: “The proof will be when the Mercedes gets back on track. Now it has been raised, all the other teams will have people watching videos, slowing it down, the FIA will keep an eye on it. If there is some sort of discrepancy, they will have got away with before but won’t anymore. But, I believe they are averse of it.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has warned of “political knives” aimed at the team after concerns raised by rivals. A late FIA tweak to qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix reduced permitted energy recharged from 9.0MJ to 8.0MJ, intended to reduce super clipping — when the car recharges towards the end of a straight and slows before a corner — allowing drivers to attack corners more normally. All five power unit manufacturers — Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull-Ford, Audi and Honda — unanimously backed the change.
Russell described the tweak as minor: “It’s just a small detail. It doesn’t change anything. You can recover less from your battery, so it means you need to be slightly more wise with how you spend it. Hopefully, what it means is we’ll be going slightly slower in the middle of the straight, but slightly faster at the end of the straight. It’s small adjustment. I’ve yet to sort of see any data of the difference from what I drove on the simulator, so I’m not exactly sure.”
One route rivals could use to close the gap is via the three periods of Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) during the season. Teams judged to be at least two per cent behind the manufacturer with the best-performing internal combustion engine are awarded development opportunities. The first ADUO is scheduled after round six in Monaco, though timing may change following cancellations of Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races.
Asked about games from rivals, Russell said: “That’s just how sport goes on to be honest. That has always been the case. We have worked so hard to get ourselves in this position, and the best team should come out on top. We’ve obviously had four years of struggle. There have been two other teams over four years who have dominated and won. Just because we’re sort of back on top, I don’t think it’s quite right, everybody’s trying to slow us down, especially when you’re two races in. It’s a big old season, so things will change. We’ve already seen Red Bull is overweight and some things we saw in the press last week, McLaren haven’t brought an upgrade to the car. They’re still running their Bahrain package. We shouldn’t forget these things. We do have an advantage right now, but I think we’ve just really hit the ground running and done a great job. We hope it continues.”
Sky Sports F1’s Japanese GP schedule:
Friday March 27
2am: Japanese GP Practice One (session starts at 2.30am)*
4.30am: Team Bosses’ Press Conference
5.45am: Japanese GP Practice Two (session starts at 6am)*
7.15am: The F1 Show*
Saturday March 28
2.15am: Japanese GP Practice Three (session starts at 2.30am)*
5am: Japanese GP Qualifying build-up*
6am: JAPANESE GP QUALIFYING*
8am: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook*
Sunday March 29
4.30am: Japanese GP build-up – Grand Prix Sunday*
6am: THE JAPANESE GRAND PRIX*
8am: Japanese GP reaction – Chequered Flag*
9am: Ted’s Notebook*
*Also live on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 heads to the Suzuka Circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1.