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1982 Monaco Grand Prix winner Riccardo Patrese has called for F1 to ban George Russell from this year’s edition of the race following his ‘disrespectful’ comments about the race weekend last year.
In a bid to increase excitement at the usually processional Monaco Grand Prix last year, the FIA implemented a new rule requiring all drivers to change tyre compounds twice, rather than the usual one-stop rule.
The jewel in the crown is upon us! Who’s your pick for the Monaco Grand Prix? 👑
The race saw a multitude of drivers playing the team game by backing the field up to allow their teammates to change tyres and keep their track position, with George Russell falling foul of the tactic as he got stuck behind the slow-moving Williams of Alex Albon.
After intentionally cutting the Nouvelle chicane on lap 50 to get past, the Brit was subsequently slapped with a harsher-than-usual drive-through penalty for the move, much to his fury over the team radio and inside the media pen after the race.
Russell was highly critical of both the lack of overtaking and the FIA’s pit stop experiment, and called for the Grand Prix to be scrapped entirely in place of two qualifying sessions that can distribute world championship points instead.
Riccardo Patrese blasts George Russell for ‘disrespectful’ Monaco Grand Prix comments
In an appearance on the Fuori Campo Parole di Sport podcast, former F1 driver Riccardo Patrese slammed Russell for his scathing critique of the Monaco Grand Prix last year.
The Italian driver is one of the Mercedes star’s biggest critics, after previously claiming that Russell is not a world champion-calibre driver like Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
What’s ONE idea you have to fix the Monaco Grand Prix? 💡
The race has been the subject of intense debate due to a lack of overtaking
Now that Russell is in the hunt for a world championship himself, Patrese strongly believes that the sport’s governing body should take action against the 28-year-old for his comments regarding the jewel in F1’s crown.
“Now, there are those who say it should be scrapped,” in response to a question about how it feels to stand on the top step of the podium in the Principality, before adding, “Russell said last year, after the race, if you remember.
“We should give him a bit of a telling-off because, I mean, a young lad who has the nerve to say that Monaco shouldn’t exist because, in his view, there’s no overtaking; well, it’s a special Grand Prix.
“You have to do well in qualifying, but I’d say he should be removed from the Grand Prix grid. I mean, it was quite disrespectful, I think.
“But to win in Monaco, and we used to go there, everyone went there, because we knew there was a really special atmosphere there; there was the prestige of perhaps the most important Grand Prix a driver can win.”
The upcoming Monaco Grand Prix could prove to be a pivotal race weekend for Russell, who currently trails Kimi Antonelli by 43 points in the championship standings. Another victory for the Italian over Russell would see his advantage surpass the threshold of two race wins.
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