George Russell defended the current Formula 1 power units after the intense duel with Kimi Antonelli at the Canadian GP. The Mercedes driver stated that the battles seen in Montreal show that the current regulations are providing exciting races and high-level wheel-to-wheel battles.
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The Briton engaged in a direct battle with his teammate during the first half of the race, with several position swaps for the lead. The confrontation between the two Mercedes drivers became one of the main topics of the Canadian weekend.
The current Formula 1 rules have been receiving criticism from much of the paddock due to the greater reliance on battery use in the power units. Some people advocate changes to increase the participation of the combustion engine as early as next season, although the proposal has recently lost momentum.
Russell, however, said he sees no reason to change the regulations. According to him, the current cars and engines are allowing battles similar to those seen in great moments of the hybrid era of the category.
“I loved it, I thought it was great,” said the Mercedes driver when commenting on the battle with Antonelli. “I hadn’t had a battle like that in years. I probably hadn’t seen something like that since Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in Bahrain, in 2014,” he said.
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The Briton emphasized that the current technical package of Formula 1 favors this type of more aggressive and balanced racing: “These new cars allow that, these new engines allow that. I don’t know why anyone would want to change them, because we had incredible battles in Melbourne,” he added.
Russell also cited other recent races as examples of the potential of the current power units: “We had great battles in China, Kimi and I had a great battle today and yesterday. This is only possible because of the way these power units are. That’s my opinion,” he concluded.
Despite the strong performance in Montreal, Russell ended up retiring from the race after suffering a power unit failure. With the result, the Briton now appears 43 points behind Antonelli in the drivers’ championship standings.
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