Azerbaijan Grand Prix: George Russell fears 'major incident' due to 'dangerous' F1 cars

British driver George Russell has called Formula One’s new era of cars “dangerous”, a “recipe for disaster” and fears it is only a “matter of time” before there is a major accident.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will line up at the front of the pack for today's Azerbaijan Grand Prix after claiming his fourth pole position on the bounce. Sergio Perez starts second ahead of championship leader Max Verstappen in the other Red Bull.

Russell is fifth on the grid, two spots ahead of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

But in the moments after he out-qualified his more illustrious Mercedes team-mate for the fifth time in eight appearances, Russell expressed his grave concerns that Sunday’s race on the streets of Baku could be overshadowed by a high-speed crash.

The new generation of F1 machines, introduced this season, and masterminded by motorsport executive Ross Brawn in the hope of providing closer racing, have been plagued by porpoising – the phenomenon where the car bounces on its suspension.

“It is definitely dangerous and it is just a matter of time before we see a major incident,” said Russell, 24.

“It is brutal. We are being shaken to pieces and I can barely see where to brake at the end of the straight because we are bouncing around so much. I don’t think we are the only car. Half of the grid are in the same boat, including Ferrari.

“A lot of us can barely keep the car in a straight line over the bumps and we are going round the last two corners at 200mph, with concrete walls either side of us, which is not a comfortable position to be in.

“It is unnecessary, with the technology that we have, that we are running a Formula One car millimetres from the ground. It is a recipe for disaster. I don’t know what the future