F1 could take inspiration from tennis to tackle frivolous protests

Formula 1 is set to discuss changes to the current protest system in the wake of Red Bull’s criticised protest against George Russell at the Canadian Grand Prix.

In Montreal, Red Bull protested twice against Russell’s win, once for alleged erratic driving behind the safety car and for alleged unsportsmanlike conduct for Russell’s radio comments, calling out Max Verstappen momentarily overtaking him behind the safety car.

The second protest was soon withdrawn, but Red Bull carried on with its first protest some two hours after the Montreal race, which meant that the final result wasn’t known until five hours afterwards, when FIA officials dismissed Red Bull’s case.

It was the second Red Bull protest against Russell and Mercedes this season, after the stewards also rejected a complaint against the Briton allegedly not slowing down enough for yellow flags in Miami as he finished third ahead of Verstappen.

Red Bull boss Horner defended his team’s right to protest against what it felt were valid incidents, but they caused frustration at Mercedes.

“It’s absolutely legitimate to protest,” Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said in Austria. “We are fighting for race wins and championships. And if you have the opinion that what you’ve seen is not right, then you should protest.

“But some of these actions are just not real. There are things that, from my perspective, are legit to protest and others that are just a little bit of a long shot.”

Wolff said the FIA is considering making it a more significant decision for a team to launch protests, with the current deposit a mere €2000 that is no serious deterrent for teams with nine-figure budgets.

“No one is a fan of higher fines, but in that instance, absolutely put in a fine, and I think the president of the FIA [Mohammed Ben Sulayem] is working on that,” Wolff added.

“Put in a fine that, at least if you lose it, is a little bit of an embarrassment that you lost so much money, and you’re going to think twice whether you do it. I think this is along the lines the FIA are thinking.”

Autosport understands various possible solutions are being looked at, including bigger deposits as Wolff suggested, or implementing some sort of challenge system akin to tennis. Tennis players have a limited number of challenges per set to contest an umpire’s decision, and lose that challenge if they are unsuccessful.

Having only a limited number of opportunities per season to protest could make teams think twice about challenging the result of a grand prix.

But other senior sources feel the current system is fine as it is and such a change could have unintended negative consequences, as being free to protest is an important right for competitors. While protests are fairly rare right now, 2026’s all-new regulations might open the door for more areas for teams to protest against each other.

It is understood the matter will be discussed further in the next F1 Commission meeting on 22 July, before the Belgian Grand Prix.