George Russell has aimed fire at the quality of Pirelli’s Formula 1 tyres.
The Italian company became the sport’s exclusive tyre supplier back in 2011, and last year the relationship was extended for a further period until 2027 - with an option for another year beyond that.
The quality of the tyres has often come under scrutiny in Formula 1, but Mercedes driver Russell says he is noticing alarming issues with the consistency of the product in 2024.
"The first half of the race, we were 1.5 seconds off the pace," the Briton, who doubles as a senior director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), said after last weekend’s Azerbaijan GP.
"In the last 20 laps, I was then a second faster than Oscar (Piastri) and Charles (Leclerc) and three tenths faster than Max (Verstappen), Checo (Perez) and Carlos (Sainz)," Russell said.
"Same circuit, same driver, same car, all I did was go from a yellow tyre to a white tyre. Honestly, it’s quite maddening that it changes so much. And it’s not just Mercedes, it’s all the teams and all the drivers.
"One session you’re fast, the next you’re not. And there is only one thing that changes," he charged.
"I think even the people who make the tyres don’t understand them," Russell continued. "We all need a serious conversation about what’s going on, because we’ve got 2000 people working like crazy to deliver the fastest car.
"For 20 laps of the race we had a car that could fight for the win, for the other 20 laps we had a car that probably shouldn’t have been in the points and the only difference is the tyres. And that’s not good enough, really."