Russell Calls Modern F1 ‘A Race to Turn 1,’ Pitches Cliff-Edge Tyres to Revive Racing

Overview

• After slipping from fourth to sixth at Turn 1 in Austin and staying there, George Russell said qualifying and the opening corner now largely fix race outcomes.
• Russell proposes tyres that allow flat-out stints before a sharp drop-off after roughly 12 laps on softs, 15 on mediums and 20 on hards to force two- or three-stop races.
• He noted Pirelli faces a no-win tradeoff, praising drivability of the current compounds while arguing they produce dull, one-stop grands prix.
• Austin underscored the trend with front-runners comfortably one-stopping on C3 and C4 compounds as most avoided the low-grip C1, leaving little tyre delta for overtakes.
• Lando Norris said passing Charles Leclerc was extremely difficult, and Fernando Alonso expects only limited gains from 2026 changes, likely shifting battles toward energy management; Russell sees Qatar and Las Vegas as chances if Mercedes nails qualifying.