MIAMI, Fla. – Red Bull’s effort to promote Max Verstappen to third place at the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix through protests against Mercedes’ George Russell was turned down by race officials shortly after the race concluded.
The team protested, arguing that Mercedes drivers failed to slow down appropriately during a yellow flag situation. Verstappen had even communicated his concerns over the radio at the race’s end, prompting Red Bull to file the protest soon after the race ended.
Speaking to the media, Red Bull principal Christian Horner pointed out that regulations require drivers to decrease their speed under yellow flag conditions. He contended that Russell didn’t adhere to this rule.
“We officially protested against George Russell, seeing as the rules clearly state that speeds must be reduced, yet cars continued to accelerate. There simply wasn’t a significant slowdown,” he remarked.
Race officials, in their decision that night, recounted discussions with parties involved, including Russell and Verstappen’s racing engineer. Red Bull claimed that Russell “lifted the throttle when the yellow flag was shown,” but maintained that he didn’t regulate his speed adequately and broke racing regulations. They asserted that drivers must approach the yellow flag area at a distinctly reduced speed compared to their speed before entering that zone.
Mercedes defended Russell’s actions, stating that all teams and the FIA considered his response—lifting the throttle significantly in the yellow flag zone—proper and compliant. Russell mentioned he had noticed a single yellow flag and a car near the track, which led him to appropriately respond by easing off the throttle.
The stewards reviewed telemetry data, confirming Russell had indeed lifted the throttle by around 25%, which corresponded to a 30% reduction in torque while passing through the yellow flag area.
Race officials later noted that while Article 26.1a) of the Sports Regulations mandates drivers to reduce identifiable speeds in the yellow flag sector, it was unclear whether this meant lowering absolute speeds or merely slowing compared to standard racing speeds in similar track segments.
Russell’s actions were deemed to reflect a considerable slowdown compared to typical race speeds, leading officials to dismiss Red Bull’s complaint. They concluded he had complied with Article 26.1a). Consequently, Russell secured third place in the final classification, with Verstappen finishing in fourth.
