George Russell calls for F1 rule change that would've cost Red Bull thousands

George Russell has called on the FIA to increase the fee required to lodge a protest to 'six figures' after suggesting that Red Bull's post-race complaint at the Canadian Grand Prix was an attempt to 'protect themselves', rather than a serious attempt to get the Mercedes man penalised.

The 27-year-old crossed the line in the lead in Montreal to secure his fourth career Grand Prix victory, but Red Bull lodged two post-race protests with the FIA - one of which was later withdrawn - accusing the Brit of unsportsmanlike behaviour. Red Bull's accusations related to a moment under the safety car, which ultimately brought the Grand Prix to a close. Russell stamped on the brakes hard in an attempt to get heat into his tyres, meaning Max Verstappen, who was in second place, overtook the Mercedes man. This, under regular circumstances, could have earned the Dutchman a penalty.

Ultimately, the Red Bull protest was dismissed, and Russell kept his win after a lengthy delay. However, the issue has yet to be laid to rest with the British racer calling for a rule change to prevent future reoccurrences.

"Yeah, 100 per cent," Russell said in Austria. "When you look at the financial penalties that go around for saying the swear word in the heat of the moment or touching a rear wing or whatever, €2000 for a team who are making nine-figure profits is not going to even touch the sides, it's not even going to be thought about twice.

"So, yeah, potentially if that was a six-figure sum to put down, maybe they would think twice about it. And perhaps that when it's something like a protest, you obviously get your money back if you win the protest. So it's basically on your own risk. Whereas at the moment, €2000 for a Formula 1 team, it's not even a consideration."

For the latest breaking stories and headlines, sign up to our Daily Express F1 newsletter, or join our WhatsApp community here.

Pressed for his thoughts about the merit of the protest. Russell raised his theory. "I think firstly it was nothing, seemingly it all came from Red Bull, as opposed to Max," he suggested. "I don't think Max was even aware of the protest.

"It was pretty clear there was not going to be any penalty. My personal view is that they wanted to go on the offensive to protect themselves, in case Max got a penalty for going ahead of me during that safety car incident. So that was my personal view, but it was just a bit of a faff and was not really necessary."

Russell's idea will garner support from F1 rivals, too. McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown called out the current protest fee back in May after accusing Red Bull of making "frivolous allegations" over the team's technical matters.