Russell urges FIA to stick to one F1 race director

George Russell says the FIA should stick to just one Formula 1 race director for the sake of instilling consistency in the stewards' office.

Last year's controversial F1 finale in Abu Dhabi led to the ousting of former race director Michael Masi and to a restructuring of race control, with two race directors – Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas – now rotating in their role as chief steward on race weekends.

While Wittich has officiated at most races, many decisions and sanctions have led to confusion among drivers who feel that calls are lacking consistency.

Friday evening's drivers' meeting at the Red Bull Ring was reportedly a high-tension affair, with drivers venting their frustrations and grievances but receiving little clarity from officials.

The heated discussions ultimately led to an unimpressed Sebastian Vettel storming out of the room, a behaviour for which the Aston Martin driver was summoned to the stewards' who levied a €25,000 suspended fine upon the four-time F1 world champion.

• Read also: Vettel fined €25,000 for storming out of drivers' meeting

It was unclear what specific topic had rattled Vettel and his colleagues in the meeting, but on Saturday, Russell underscored the need for consistency in decisions, pointing to "a lot of borderline decisions or manoeuvres" this season.

Russell made clear that having rotating race directors at the helm was detrimental to consistency.

"Yes, I do agree that we need to stick to one race director," said the Mercedes driver and GPDA director.

"We need to have a bit more consistency with the stewarding. We come to the following event and often the steward in the previous event is not there. So there's no accountability, no explanations of decisions.

"We ask questions, and it's difficult to get a straightforward answer because almost a bit blame is being put onto somebody else who isn't there.

"So it is tricky. Everybody’s got their own interpretations."

Russell acknowledged the difficult task faced by F1's race directors, but from the drivers' perspective, consistency regarding stewards' decisions is fundamental.

"Over the course of the year, a number of drivers commented on that," said the Briton. "I think when you've got one race director, things can generally be more consistent."

In Saturday's sprint event, Williams Alex Albon was hit with a five-second penalty for running McLaren's Lando Norris off the track.

The Anglo-Thai racer was unhappy with a decision he felt was unfair compared to how drivers had scrapped wheel-to-wheel and ran off the track last weekend at Silverstone without any intervention from the stewards.

Albon accused the latter of "moving the goalposts" and incessantly sowing confusion among the drivers about which moves are permitted or not.

"We had a long chat in the drivers briefing about this kind of stuff," Albon said. "And you've seen it tends to be when people complain about a decision, the next race becomes extra tough on that decision, whatever it may be.

"We've talked about let them race after Silverstone and then we can't race in Austria. It's a moving goalpost for us. We don't really know what we can and cannot do.

"It's tricky, because I do feel that obviously the FIA are learning what they want to be doing with the driving and until they find it, there is a bit of inconsistency.

"I'm sure we'll have a chat again in the drivers briefing next race and the goalposts will move again," concluded the frustrated Williams charger.

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