Austrian GP: George Russell warned for pit lane infringement
28th June 2025Mercedes’ George Russell has escaped punishment from the FIA Stewards after a pit lane infringement during qualifying for the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix.
Feature image credit: Mercedes F1
Russell, who had put in the fastest lap time on the board in Free Practice 1, qualified fifth for the Austrian Grand Prix but was soon under the spotlight by the stewards during qualifying.
It was deemed that Russell had entered the pit lane when there was no suitable gap for him to enter the fast lane of the pits at the Red Bull Ring.
The stewards’ report confirmed that Russell had to stop at an angle, which stopped him from seeing approaching cars. When he tried to communicate with his team, he slipped the clutch accidentally, and the car lurched forward.
The Mercedes had stopped in time to allow the two Ferraris through, and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen before he continued.
It was reported that the team representative confirmed Mercedes ‘could have done a better job’ in regards to the incident.
In the stewards report, they said:
“Car 63 [Russell] tried to enter the fast lane after exiting its garage when other cars were approaching in the fast lane and therefore had to stop in an angle preventing the driver from seeing the other cars approaching in the fast lane.
“The driver tried to radio the team but in doing so accidentally slipped the clutch, causing the car to jump forward.
“The team representative admitted the team could have done a better job in managing the situation.”
As a result of the incident, Mercedes was given a reprimand whilst Russell was given a warning, avoiding any impact to his starting position for the upcoming Austrian GP.
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Austrian GP: who qualified where?
- Austrian GP: Norris takes pole position by half a second
- Austrian GP: Lando Norris fastest ahead of Oscar Piastri
- Austria GP: Lando Norris leads McLaren 1-2 in F1 FP2
- Austrian GP: George Russell tops opening F1 practice
- Max Verstappen frustrated in Austrian GP press conference
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
