George Russell calls out FIA in private chat with Novak Djokovic as Brit talks F1 ‘killer’ | F1 | Sport
George Russell has been filmed calling out the FIA’s calendar decisions in a private chat with tennis star Novak Djokovic. The Mercedes youngster revealed he had held discussions with F1 bosses over the order in which races should be run as Djokovic pointed out issues with travel.
It comes after Russell enjoyed time at the Monte Carlo Masters tennis tournament in between Grands Prix. He saw Djokovic overcome qualifier Ivan Gakhov to reach the third round of the competition.
It was the Serbian’s first win in more than a month but the victory moved him into the last 16. In the footage of their conversation, Djokovic first asks Russell if he watched the match with the Mercedes star pointing at the corner of the court where he had sat.
The pair are then embroiled in a chat about the match before attention turns to F1. Djokovic asks: “What’s the stage now? Where are you guys going for the next one?”
Russell replied: “We’ve got Azerbaijan next. We’ve just come back from Melbourne.” The tennis ace then asks how long it takes Russell to recuperate after the Australian Grand Prix with the Mercedes star giving a telling response.
Russell remarks: “Melbourne’s a killer I mean it’s probably taken a week to come back. We were meant to go to China next week so we’ve actually got a couple of weeks off. Then Azerbaijan and then the season really kicks off. Then Miami.”
Djokovic then called out F1 bosses as he questioned why the calendar was split up and not arranged in continent order. Russell smiled back, suggesting he and other F1 stars had already held talks over the same issue.
He responded: “No, no, no, we’ve had a few conversations about this because we are left, right and centre.”
At the end of last season, F1 confirmed they were looking into adopting a regional approach in a bid to reduce travel. The aim was to try and group races in similar locations to avoid unnecessary travel over the course of a season.
It comes as time ticks down on a target set by F1 bosses for the sport to be net zero carbon by 2030. F1 has also met with race promoters to create a sustainability plan for every event.
In December, Stefano Domenicali said: “We are committed to making Formula One more sustainable and increasing diversity and opportunity across this incredible sport. We remain focused on these very important objectives and have continued to make strong progress in 2022.”
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