Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton added that the situation was “ridiculous”.
The seven-time champion said: “It seems a bit of a mess there at the moment. There’s lots of changes that are needed, for sure.”
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen – who last year was the first driver to be punished for swearing, with a form of community service – said the change was “a bit better – it’s a start”.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said when the change of rules was announced on Wednesday that he had “led an extensive and collaborative review with contributions from across the seven FIA World Championships”.
However, speaking during media day at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Russell said: “We’ve still had no correspondence with anyone from the senior level at the FIA. So yeah, it’s all a bit suspect.”
Russell did not expand on his meaning, but it is likely that he was referring to the series of controversies that have surrounded Ben Sulayem in his three years as president, including his desire to change the statutes of the governing body to further extend his control, as BBC Sport revealed this week.
Asked why the drivers had not had dialogue with Ben Sulayem, Russell said: “That’s a good question. It seems more challenging than it should be really, but we’ve all put our views forward.
“I wouldn’t say it’s gotten to a point of no return, but you at least want to see willingness from the other party.
“I think we feel we’ve put our views forward and we want to have conversations and dialogue and there’s only so much you can ask.”
World championship leader Oscar Piastri of McLaren said: “The fact there has been changes made is good. The stewards have a lot more control now, in the fine print, which is good because the circumstances definitely need to be taken into account.
“It’s a good step forward. One of the big things for the FIA was putting something for abusing officials which I think is very fair and reasonable.
“I think maybe some of the other areas got caught up in that and it felt a bit harsh. But there are some genuine reasons for what they are doing.”
Russell also backed the potential bid of rally legend Carlos Sainz Sr in this December’s FIA presidential election.
Sainz is the father of Williams driver Carlos Sainz Jr.
“It could only benefit the sport having Carlos with the inside knowledge of Formula 1 from a driver’s perspective and then Carlos Sr’s knowledge from motorsport generally. It could be a brilliant recipe,” he said.
Russell dismissed the idea there could be a conflict of interest because of Sainz’s son, who is also a GPDA director.
He said: “You’re so far sort of removed ultimately from a technical standpoint. It’s down to the technical people within the FIA to be the rule makers.
“The president in years gone by has probably been far less involved than what we’ve seen recently and far less visible.
“We always knew who the president of the FIA was, especially with Jean Todt, but you’re working in the background, you’re not working in the forefront. So I don’t see there ever being a conflict.”
