George Russell will keep his third-place finish from the Miami Grand Prix after race stewards rejected a post-race protest lodged by the Red Bull team against the Mercedes driver.
Russell secured the final podium position, finishing one place ahead of Max Verstappen. Red Bull`s protest alleged that the British driver failed to slow sufficiently while passing through a zone under a single-waved yellow flag during the race.
Stewards convened a hearing following the event, hearing arguments and evidence from representatives of both teams. Ultimately, they ruled against Red Bull`s challenge.
With Russell finishing 2.3 seconds ahead of Verstappen, a time penalty could potentially have elevated the Dutchman to third place instead of fourth. Russell had gained track position relative to Verstappen earlier by pitting under a Virtual Safety Car period.
During the hearing, Red Bull argued that while Russell did lift the throttle upon seeing the yellow flag, his speed did not decrease, and thus he did not comply with the regulations.
Mercedes representatives countered by asserting that the established and accepted practice among teams and the FIA is that a significant reduction of throttle is considered an appropriate response to a yellow flag, and that Russell had indeed performed such a significant lift after observing Gabriel Bortoleto`s stranded Sauber car.
Stewards reviewed data from Russell`s car, including onboard footage and telemetry. Their findings indicated that Car 63 (Russell) did lift the throttle by approximately 25% in the yellow flag zone, resulting in a roughly 30% reduction in engine torque.
Their conclusion addressed the interpretation of Article 26.1(a), which requires drivers to have “discernibly reduced speed” under yellow flags. The stewards clarified that this requirement pertains to a reduction in speed relative to the driver`s typical racing speed for that specific section of the track, rather than a reduction in absolute speed. They reasoned that absolute speed might even increase slightly in certain areas, such as braking zones, despite a driver lifting, whereas reducing speed relative to normal racing speed always signals compliance.
The stewards determined that Russell`s speed in the yellow flag zone was considerably slower relative to the regular racing speed, even if his absolute speed marginally increased while traversing the area. Based on this interpretation and the telemetry data, they dismissed Red Bull`s protest.
As a result of the protest being rejected, Red Bull also forfeited their protest deposit.
This decision means Russell maintains his fourth podium finish from the first six races of the season and remains just six points behind Verstappen in the Drivers` Championship standings. In the Constructors` standings, Mercedes holds a 36-point lead over Red Bull, although they now trail significantly behind McLaren, who achieved a dominant one-two finish in Miami.
