Russell would not understand protest: 'Look at our sustainability plans'
F1 News
Authorities are on edge at Silverstone this weekend. The Just Stop Oil protest group reportedly wants to disrupt the British Grand Prix. Already several drivers have called for these people to stay away from the track in particular. George Russell, appointed from among the drivers as the director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, is confident that the remaining days of the race weekend will also be incident-free.
Russell says the drivers have faith in the Formula One organisation, the Silverstone circuit management and the FIA: "I think… there are a hundred extra marshals around this weekend to try and stop anybody running onto the track. I feel that we're all open and free to cast our views, but doing it on a live Formula 1 track is pretty irresponsible, and it should be dangerous for whoever the protesters are, but not only them, the drivers, marshals who potentially be running after people."
Formula 1 is working towards sustainable fuels
The Mercedes driver also has some urgent advice for anyone considering protesting at Silverstone. "I'd also encourage these protesters to look at the good that Formula 1 is doing from a sustainability perspective. We're going to 100% sustainable fuels in the future. As a sport, as teams, and as individuals, we're doing a huge push on the sustainability front, and I think it would only be fair for them to have a look and see what we're doing, even open conversations with us before recklessly running onto a circuit when we're driving past at 200mph."
As the group's name suggests, these protesters are trying to force the UK government and also governments from around the world to stop using oil to protect the environment. Over the past 12 months, protesters have stopped traffic in the UK as they marched through the streets in protest. Just Stop Oil protesters also entered the circuit during the British GP last year. The impact of that action was minimal due to the red flag that was just waved at the time because of Guanyu Zhou's heavy crash at turn one.
The same group disrupted several sporting events in 2023. These included the 2023 World Snooker Championship at The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Final at Twickenham and the 2023 Ashes Cricket Series. Earlier this week, protesters interrupted two tennis matches at Wimbledon.