George Russell Banned From F1 Experiment Deemed 'Too Dangerous'

George Russell was once banned from conducting a Formula 1 experience after being told it was 'too dangerous'.

Russell, 27, has enjoyed a decent season despite Mercedes struggling to keep pace with McLaren.

So far in the 2025 campaign, Russell has won two races - in Canada and Singapore.

He is currently fourth in the standings, behind title challengers Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Recently, it was revealed that Russell and ex-Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton were banned from conducting an F1 experiment.

Back in 2022, the word 'porpoising' was the talk of the F1 paddock, with Mercedes' W13 being one of the cars which suffered the most.

Porpoising often occurred at high speed when the airflow under the car's floor stalls, causing a loss of downforce that lifts the car, followed by the airflow returning and sucking the car back down. The cycle causes the car to bounce up and down at high speed.

During the season, Russell and Hamilton wanted to put a senior engineer in the Mercedes simulator rig, but their plan was denied by a health and safety officer.

As per Racing News 365, Russell said: "Oh yeah, to be honest, they are brutal cars. We've got a rig that does simulated replays of a lap, replaying the suspension movements from the chassis side, and Lewis and I wanted to put one of our chief designers in this car to do a replay of Baku.

"[It was] to show how aggressive the porpoising was, and the health and safety officer said it was too dangerous, so that gives a bit of perspective."

He continued: "You're driving around for an hour-and-a-half, you're shaking all over the place and your back, your body, your eyes. I remember the first year of Las Vegas, I couldn't see the brake marker boards because the car was hitting the ground so aggressively, I was doing 240mph, and I just couldn't see it.

"I spoke with a few drivers and half the grid was the same, so yeah, I am glad we're moving away from this."

Last weekend, porpoising made a return as McLaren struggled with the set-up of their cars and were eventually disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix due to excessive skid block wear.

The 2025 F1 season continues this weekend with the Qatar Grand Prix, where Norris can seal a maiden world title by outscoring Verstappen and Piastri by two points or more.