F1: Red Bull, Ferrari accused of manipulating rules by Mercedes ace

George Russell is certain that Red Bull Racing and Ferrari were "pushing the regulations" in the first half of the season to give them an advantage over Mercedes. The British racer is hoping the new Technical Directive (TD) that comes into effect in Belgium this weekend will bring the Silver Arrows closer to their rivals.

Mercedes were among the teams worst affected by porpoising after the FIA introduced a raft of new aero regulations for the 2022 season and beyond. After months of discussions, the governing body has stepped in on grounds of driver safety and introduced a TD to help teams cope with the bouncing issues.

The new FIA directive that comes into play at the Belgian Grand Prix will not only monitor vertical oscillations affecting the cars, but also prevent the use of "flexi floors." A number of teams have voiced their opinions against mid-season rule changes, while many believe Red Bull and Ferrari have previously taken advantage by utilising their floor against regulations.

Russell is hoping Mercedes' main rivals will face a performance deficit once the new regulations are followed on their respective cars. The Silver Arrows are currently around 0.5 seconds adrift of the fastest cars, which they feel will be further reduced in Spa this weekend.

"Spa is going to be interesting," Russell told Sky Sports. "There's changes to some little regulations which may bring other teams towards us."

"There is no doubt that Ferrari and Red Bull have pushed the regulations in that regard, and we've respected it as the regulation was intended."

The former Williams driver admitted that there is no guarantee the new regulations will slow down Red Bull and Ferrari. However, he is certain that any car that was running the "flexi floors" will be slower than they were in the races prior to the summer break.

"We know if it was on our car, it would make us slower. Every car is different, but it's not going to help them that's for sure," he added.

While Red Bull and Ferrari have been vocal against FIA's intervention midway through the season. Both teams continue to insist that the new regulations will have no long lasting impact to their performance going into the second-half of the 2022 campaign.