The Monaco Grand Prix stewards explained why George Russell received a harsher penalty than usual for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
They issued the Mercedes driver a drive-through penalty for cutting across the Nouvelle chicane in order to overtaking Alexander Albon through the race. The standard penalty for this is 10 seconds, though it can be mitigated to five0.The stewards said they gave Russell a harsher penalty because they believe his move was deliberate. They justified this view by citing his radio message to race engineer Marcus Dudley in which he said he would “take the penalty”.
“Car 63 [Russell] left the track at turn 10 and overtook car 23 [Albon],” the stewards noted. “He did not give that position back and maintained his track position.
“It was clear from the radio message where he said that he would ‘take the penalty’ that the overtake was done deliberately as he felt that he was being held up by car 23 driving erratically.”
The stewards said drivers had been warned not to gain positions at the corner by cutting across the track.
“Anticipating that situations such as this might happen at this Monaco Grand Prix, all the teams were informed before the race by the race director (at the [stewards’] request) that the stewards would look carefully at a deliberate leaving of the track at turn 10 to overtake a car or a train of slow cars.
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“That communication also made it clear that the guideline penalty of 10 seconds may be insufficient for this deliberate infringement and that the penalty applied may be a greater penalty than 10 seconds.
“We therefore considered that car 63’s deliberate infringement warranted a drive through penalty and we so imposed.”
Afterwards Russell pointed out that even with a harsher drive-through penalty he was able to finish higher than he would have done had he stayed behind Albon. “It’s a bit of a flawed system,” he told Sky.
Penalty box
Did the stewards issue the correct penalty? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.
Russell's penalty for cutting the chicane was:
- No opinion (0%)
- Far too lenient (0%)
- Slightly too lenient (0%)
- Correct (100%)
- Slightly too harsh (0%)
- Far too harsh (0%)
Total Voters: 1
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2025 Monaco Grand Prix
- Wurz’s proposed Monaco track changes would make ‘1 to 5%’ difference – Sainz
- Bortoleto claims his “put him in the wall” radio message was taken out of context
- I deserved penalty, deliberate rule breaking ‘should never be allowed’ – Russell
- Domenicali defends F1’s Monaco GP tyre change rule after drivers’ criticism
- McLaren lead the points but Verstappen has led most laps after Monaco GP
Jere (@jerejj)
25th May 2025, 16:15
Unsurprising
BasCB (@bascb)
25th May 2025, 16:50
I found it a bit surprising they actually DO what was needed here. Good call, it would really have made a joke of the passing rules. They raised the standard penalty from 5 to 10 seconds exactly because it was too much of an advantage to just take that 5 second penalty, so allowing Russel, especially him being the drivers “union” president, to so obviously just ignore the rules would be a really bad one.
When I think about it, Russel might consider actually giving up his position as president of that driver forum, because I am sure Ben Sulayam will be happy to use this to his advantage to show the drivers need more FIA controls.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
25th May 2025, 16:16
The clowns are angry. lolz. They give Max 5 seconds for intentionally stealing the lead in some races so he can finish higher up, yet they would screw Russell over even though the guy in front is brake checking him in to the chicane.
absolute clowns that care more about perception than safety or fairness. Absolutely. FIA can eat it’s own shorts, paid for by the suffering of drivers everywhere.
LosD (@losd)
25th May 2025, 16:19
@pcxmac He was warned before the race. The only clown here is Russell
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
25th May 2025, 16:33
like i said, they care more about perception than safety.
BasCB (@bascb)
25th May 2025, 16:54
Albon nor Sainz was “break checking him”. The only moment that looked somewhat hairy was when Albon braked pretty agressively and Antonelli almost hit him, nothing remotely close to that with Russel. I would argue that Russel blatantly ignoring the rules actually might have been the reason why Albon started to make it even harder to have a go.
I do agree that it was pretty clear that giving Max only a 5 second penalty was a big mistake, because he was also just ignoring that he had to give it back. And it might well be that a driver as prominent as Russel making it that obvious that he was doing this on purpose was slammed down even harder than it would have otherwise been exactly BECAUSE Max was taking advantage of the stewards being friendly on him earlier in the year IMO
OOliver
25th May 2025, 16:16
The moment I heard his radio I just knew it would be worse off for him.
He could at the very least pretended he had an issue or a toothache.
floodo1 (@floodo1)
25th May 2025, 23:45
lol
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
25th May 2025, 16:20
Dangerously lenient precedent set here. Instead of losing 40 seconds behind Lawson and 80 seconds behind the two Williams, he should have just driven straight past them, taken a few drive through penalties, but still benefitted since he could run in clear air. Same goes for anyone else being held up really. I think you have to disqualify drivers who cynically break the rules like this, because due to the unique nature of the Monaco track, there is no time penalty which guarantees you will be worse off after taking the penalty than sitting behind a driver using the backing up strategy.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
25th May 2025, 16:34
Max has cut numerous corners and benefitted greatly. He’s not cynical though, he’s a genius and a champion. So that kind of thinking is loser-talk. It’s not cynicism, it’s quality ruthlessness, being a winner requires challenging the norms, and being different.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
25th May 2025, 17:18
@pcxmac When Max has done it, there has always been a degree of plausible deniability. But I think he should also have been penalised more for moves like in Saudi, because the penalty should always make the driver worse off than they were if they drove legally. Breaking the rules intentionally isn’t genius or ruthlessness, and it’s not challenging the norms. It’s cheating, and it should be punished appropriately where it is beyond doubt what the intention was.
Addme (@dontme)
25th May 2025, 16:30
This penalty on Russel opens the door to more random penalties based on what stewards think, rather then what happens on the track. They can’t know if it’s deliberate.
We have seen many cheeky “brake” errors in the past. Are we now going to introduce the psychic powers of the stewards as evidence for such penalties? Slippery slope.
PeteB (@peteb)
25th May 2025, 16:34
It should never be better to take a penalty than to follow the rules. If a driver says “I’ll take the penalty”, he’s openly admitting that the penalty he’s expecting (in this case, a 5s or 10s penalty) is too weak and the stewards decided to call his bluff.
As soon as I heard him say it, I immediately wondered if the stewards would give him something more severe.
Patrick (@paeschli)
26th May 2025, 7:45
“I’ll take the penalty” still does not mean the driver did it intentionally. In fact it didn’t seem intentional at all: Russell was taking avoiding action because the driver in front of him was driving erratically. Once in front, he figured he would rather pull a gap than risk crashing into Albon once more.
Carsten Nielsen (@carstenb)
26th May 2025, 9:34
100% disagree. Whether intentional or not, nobody should be able to get an advantage from breaking the rules. In this case: Demand that Russell give the place back, (right away, not within 3 laps, if non compliant, black flag).
MichaelN
25th May 2025, 17:01
The penalties are not random, they are prescribed in the sporting regulations.
The stewards have always been, and are, able to pick from any of the penalties on the menu.
This idea that ‘precedence’ reigns supreme is a fallacy based in a mistaken idea that the entire world operates on a Common Law system. It does not.
Giving a harsher penalty to Russell than the stewards usually do is perfectly fine, and indeed a good move since it shows they’ve learned from their leniency towards the Haas shenanigans last year.
Addme (@dontme)
25th May 2025, 17:39
5 seconds for leaving track and gaining an advantage, 10 seconds for leaving track and gaining an advantage and now a drivethrough for leaving track and gaining an advantage. Seperate rules for lap 1 incidents. Seperate rules for drivers, different outcomes in similar incidents. I might watch a different F1 than you.
Giving a harser penalty based on feelings is comical. There is no evidence that Russel did it deliberate. I “think” he did it on purpose! Quicly, give him the harsh penalty! that will show him not to talk about it on the radio!
SteveP
25th May 2025, 21:02
Watch the video of the incident, Russell didn’t even make an effort to take the corner.
Yes, it’s frustrating for the following driver when someone with less pace blocks your progress. It’s Monaco and such things are not only possible, they are part of its history. It hasn’t been a decent F1 track for decades.
For those complaining about Russell being penalised: How would the world have viewed it if Nigel Mansell had cut the chicane to get past Senna?
DaveW (@dmw)
25th May 2025, 21:39
The mansell comparison is well taken. If Mansell had pulled out more than 10 seconds it would have been worth it. But Senna was not purposefully holding him up to help his teammate due to a rule that that made it rational to just block the road. I was expecting Mercedes to have Antonelli do the same thing and then hold up Albon enough to cover Russell’s penalty. And then who would be in the wrong? Mercedes could just point to behavior by many drivers to the same end. Recall that in a SC situation it is a violation to back up the pack to avoid a double stack pit stop. Here we encourage the same behavior and punish with extra fervor when people try to avoid this behavior from others? The sport rule makers made themselves look ridiculous today.
Wgot11
25th May 2025, 19:17
The Haas shenanigans were what Williams was pulling…
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th May 2025, 22:30
@dontme
Ordinarily I would agree with. But on this occasion Russell made the error of stating on the radio he would accept a penalty rather than give the place back. That showed he knew he’d transgressed and was refusing to correct the running order.
I was actually impressed that, for once, the stewards recognised someone was exploiting their often-lenient penalties to gain an advantage, even if it had to be spelled out for them.
Tomcat173 (@tomcat173)
26th May 2025, 0:39
I was actually disappointed that they punished Russell for this move, and took his admission into account when working out what punishment he got. It’s inconsistent with previous decision making around gaining an advantage.
Typically the stewards do not take into account the circumstances surrounding an infringement. Most recent example is Lewis impeding Max in qualifying – they acknowledged the fact that Ferrari told Lewis the wrong information from the team. They ruled that it was irrelevant because Max was impeded, so Lewis got his 3 place grid drop. In George’s case it’s irrelevant that he did this move on purpose – the standard punishment for corner cutting and not relinquishing the position is a 5s penalty. Max has certainly done that in previous races. The fact that George gave it away on the radio doesn’t mean the punishment ought to be bigger.
LosD (@losd)
26th May 2025, 7:20
… and Piquet Jr. shouldn’t have been punished?
That, and they explicitly warned the teams about this before the race, as told in the article:
WelshChris
25th May 2025, 16:33
A harsher penalty should be the default position for any driver that refuses or ignores an initial penalty.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
25th May 2025, 16:40
Harsher penalty and everything, he still served it and came out ahead of Albon.
Next time just black flag drivers that do not return the position in 2 laps.
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
25th May 2025, 16:57
I didn’t like that as well, but that was also up to Albon ans Williams. He continued to cruise 4 seconds slower per lap. Probably Williams failed to inform him to up his pace for a couple of laps or they didn’t care because they still had him covered with Sainz.
LosD (@losd)
26th May 2025, 7:21
They had others to worry about for Sainz’ second stop, if I recall correctly.
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
25th May 2025, 16:40
To see the reintroduction of a drive through for corner cutting and not giving the place back is most positive aspect of that bizarre race. Hopefully they’ll keep doing that in the future too.
David BR (@david-br)
25th May 2025, 17:12
Russell penalized for exposing how Monaco is simply now a track where overtaking is impossible. It was the only interesting moment of the race, a fourth wall moment where one driver suddenly asked, why the hell are we doing this and calling it racing?
SteveP
25th May 2025, 17:43
Russell was penalised for disrespecting the stewards by petulantly refusing the team instruction to hand the position back as recommended by the Race Director’s guidelines.
The Monaco aspect is one where it has long been a glitz event with a ‘race’ attached.
Full marks to them for providing an opportunity to be entertained by trying to figure out what team would pit when and whether that would assist with track position – however, it did make the meat lumps steering the coloured tokens rather redundant.
Maybe one of the self-steering car developers could help them out with the new non-F1 Monaco event?
Alesici
25th May 2025, 18:16
Maybe just watch the Formula E Monaco race instead. The circuit is perfect for Formula E, without the silly pelleton racing that occasionally plagues F E. It’s just a great motor race with plenty of genuine racing.
SteveP
25th May 2025, 21:06
Mario Kart is a video game that belongs on the consoles that are absent from my home.
David B
25th May 2025, 20:12
I actually like Russell & i absolutely hated the whole pit stop tactics on display (even though many people are forgetting it always happens round Monaco), but personally i’d have black flagged him for that.
I luv chicken
26th May 2025, 13:49
Monaco organizers should add a few obstacles to their track. Perhaps some spikes sticking out of the guard rail at the pool, or build up the bump just before the Mirabeau.
DaveW (@dmw)
25th May 2025, 21:16
I think it was unfair to Russell. Cutting the chicane is always a form of advantage. They created a new aggravating factor to the crime of undermining the silly gimmick put on for the race. Next time they can sentence him to a struggle session or a self criticism meeting.
Jack
25th May 2025, 21:36
Disgusting attitude from George who chose to cheat and deliberately break the rules.
Very glad the stewards took notice of what he said on the radio and went with a harsh penalty.
Personally it should have been 10 second stop / go just to show that type of behaviour won’t be tolerated.
An Sionnach
25th May 2025, 22:01
Yes. I initially thought the penalty given was a ten second stop-go one. That would have been better. Since George pointed out that he benefited from his move even with the penalty, it was not sufficient. Nobody should be able to take a penalty and improve their result. It should not be possible to achieve parity after such a penalty, unless it’s something marginal that nobody but the stewards and painstaking analysis could determine. Like these races to the apex where nobody knows if they’ve gotten there first.
A Singh
25th May 2025, 22:29
Why? Let’s face it – it’s a trash circuit and Russell made a mockery of it. What’s wrong with that?
Peter707
26th May 2025, 12:37
Indeed. It was a perfectly absurd attitude for a perfectly absurd race.
I luv chicken
26th May 2025, 13:53
All would have been good had the weather been better, and there were more “babe” camera shots. You know it’s true. Why else do we watch videos of chicks in micro skirts, trying exit Ferraris at the Casino?
A Singh
25th May 2025, 22:37
Personally, I’d like to see this become a tactic in future editions of the Monaco GP to liven up this awful circuit. If Leclerc for example did this move on Norris, he would have to pull out a lead of a couple of seconds at least before the next lap so that Norris can’t attempt it on Leclerc to regain the place. If he’s successful, he then has a new strategy available to him of building a 20 second lead to negate the impending drive through penalty. On top of that, the drivers are also not exploiting the tactic of cutting the chicane four times before receiving a time penalty. The time gained cutting the chicane four times would easily negate a time penalty for track limits.
oweng (@oweng)
26th May 2025, 7:37
The correct call and good to see deliberate rule breaking being punished more harshly. But it sounds very much like if you do a better job of protesting your fake innocence over the radio as others have done then you’ll still get the usual bare minimum.