Like the protagonists of the best movies, almost all Formula 1 drivers have a story worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster for the impressive level of talent, commitment, budget, results, luck and a really powerful mind, everything that is you need to get a seat on the top flight grid.
This is the young British George Russell, who will drive for Mercedes from next year, a driver who has been very fast from the beginning: always on the limit, guided by the best minds in the motor world and with a clear mission to bring about.
“The clear goal is to become Formula 1 world champion,” he said in the days before the announcement of his arrival at Mercedes for 2022. “I want to make sure that I am the best version of myself physically, on and off the circuit, and also for the way I work with the team.”
“It is very important, because all these things have to be well aligned to do a great job on the track. And I recognize that you need to have a good team behind you, that you are just one more cog in that huge chain, and you have to work hard. On it”.
Personally, Russell ‘s style is very polite and unflinching, according to Gwen Lagrue , Mercedes driver development adviser. Lagrue met Russell in 2010, when the young Brit had been in karting for four years and had already captured the MSA and British Open titles.
“He was extremely mature, and his self-confidence set him apart from all the other drivers at that age,” Lagrue said.
That was one of his great qualities, especially if we take into account that among those other drivers were Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon, Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon.
“When you’re 13 or 14, you’re not always confident in yourself,” Lagrue continued. “George was really focused on that. And he was very smart, the way he raced was definitely something different. He didn’t always have the best car, but he was always smart enough to do something special and make the most of what he had in his hands, something I think he has also done with the Williams cars over the last few years.
Russell continued with karting until the end of 2013, at which point he became European karting champion. The victories continued when he moved on to single-seaters, where he lifted the 2014 British F4 title and received the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, beating, among others, Albon , who was one of the finalists.
However, Mercedes had not yet taken the step. But, in 2016 – when Russell was winning races in European F3 – there was an approach for him to join the ranks of the Silver Arrows’ junior drivers.
“We developed a good relationship pretty quickly, and we always kept in touch,” says Lagrue . “I wanted to sign him as early as 2013 or 2014, but it wasn’t possible at the time. And when I moved to Mercedes , it was the first thing I did (to) make sure George joined us.”
Of course, by this time Russell had already met Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff , who remembers well the first contact he had with him in 2013.
“He came to my office, alone, with a black suit and a black tie, it must have been his communion suit, because it was a bit tight, and a PowerPoint presentation,” says a Wolff who a few years later gave the green light to the signing of Russell .
Russell ‘s first challenge as a Mercedes junior was the 2017 GP3 Series , but it was no cakewalk. At Monza and after a tough three-way battle with his ART Grand Prix team-mates Jack Aitken and the late Anthoine Hubert , the Briton scored a notable victory out of the four he achieved that year.
“I think this season, and even the following year’s Formula 2 season, was not easy,” says Lagrue . “Both were difficult seasons, which was also positive in a way because we had to face some difficult moments.”
“I think where he improved the most was physically. He became a real athlete at that time, but also mentally he was a bit stronger. He also managed to be a bit calmer when it came to facing the most difficult moments.”
“We worked quite a bit on the stress level. They were small details, but the combination of these made him – through GP3 and F2 – ready for F1 .”
However, arguably his best performance was not at Monza, but rather took place in the penultimate round, at Jerez, despite failing to win. It wasn’t his passing title rival Jack Aitken in Sunday’s sprint race, nor the fact that fourth place and fastest lap points put the crown out of reach for his competitors.
“I don’t know if anyone knows, but George was very sick the week in Jerez,” Lagrue said. “He had an ear infection and we had to take him to the circuit with a medical plane because he could not fly on a commercial plane due to the risk of having a more serious infection. The first day of tests (before the event), he still did not feel well But, despite that, he managed to win the GP3 championship, even though he wasn’t feeling well at all.”
Russell also faced his demons in F2 , despite claiming a 68-point lead at the end of the season over runner-up Lando Norris . Monaco was the decisive moment, with the now Mercedes driver determined to recover after two withdrawals due to several accidents in the Principality that undermined his confidence.
“After that we had to do a reset,” says Lagrue . “We had a triplet, which was France, Austria and Silverstone. And we said: ‘Okay, we have three races in a row. If we are able to win them and be leaders by finishing this triplet, then we put ourselves in a very good position to fight for the title. ‘”.
“We approached these three races as a mini-championship, and he did it very well. It was a key moment in the climb to the Formula 2 title.”
Although Russell ‘s personal team, which included Mercedes’ Lagrue and his physio Aleix Casanovas , kept him calm and focused, sometimes his ambition got the better of him. Something that his then director in GP3 at ART, now boss of the Alfa Romeo team in Formula 1, Frederic Vasseur , remembers well.
“George, he’s a very, very insistent guy. Very demanding on the team, even too much at times. And in the past I’ve had tough conversations with George about this,” Vasseur told the F1 Beyond the Grid podcast in 2020.
“But, he is also very demanding on himself. In the end, it is the only way to survive and improve here. He had a fantastic season in Formula 2 , when he won the title as a rookie.”
Of course, by then, Russell had already had a number of tests behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car , specifically with Mercedes – starting in 2017, with a private session at Portimao, and followed by an official mid-season test at the Hungaroring. It also racked up a further five days of testing in 2018, spread between the Silver Arrows, Force India and Williams .
Russell also shattered the unofficial Hungaroring track record testing the W09 , having already impressed in 2017 FP1 with Force India in Brazil and Abu Dhabi. However, you will be surprised to know that this was hardly taken into account at Mercedes.
“It really was another step in his preparation, and it matched our expectations that the guy was starting to show us that he could be someone we could get in the car with in the future,” Lagrue said.
“From there I would say that the pressure changed, because it was up to us to find a seat in F1 for the 2019 season. He was doing his job in F2 . Every time he had an opportunity, anything we asked of him: simulator , test, FP1, he was doing a perfect job. So we started thinking ‘OK, now we have to find a solution for 2019, because he deserves it, and our duty is to take him to the top flight now'”.
Since then, Russell has done nothing but grow over the past three seasons in F1 with Williams . He worked hard to convince the team to sign him in the first place, and even more to overcome the limitations of cars that are difficult to drive in most cases. Russell has also evolved at every turn, honing his driving skills and becoming a team leader.
“The great drivers adapt quickly to the situation and the conditions: this is the level of grip that I have, this is the set-up that I have, and right now I can’t change either of those things no matter how clear it is. So , how do I adapt my driving to get the best lap time?” said his Williams race engineer, James Unwin .
“He’s also very proactive with his use of the electronic tools on the wheel. He makes regular adjustments to fine-tune the balance of the car. It takes a really big brain to do that for 70 laps.”
Russell has consistently beaten his Williams team-mates, first Robert Kubica and then Nicholas Latifi. Recent bad weather qualifying results have also been outstanding and of course there is last year’s Sakhir Grand Prix, in which Russell replaced Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes as the seven-time champion recovered from COVID-19. , and almost won…
“We knew he had the ability to deliver, as surely as Mercedes did, so it wasn’t a huge surprise,” says Unwin . “That weekend he was in the media spotlight and given a great opportunity to show off his talent, but perhaps the question was whether he was going to handle the extra pressure that came with it. And it looks like he coped quite a bit. Well, I don’t think it needed a PowerPoint presentation to sell itself after that weekend.”
Although the final result in that race was disappointing for Russell , it was another good lesson for Mercedes .
“He did everything he could, of course, to win that race, but he didn’t do it,” Lagrue said. “In my eyes, which may sound stupid or crazy to a lot of people, I think it’s a good thing he didn’t win it. He won a lot of things that weekend, of course. But he still didn’t win the race, unfortunately for him and for the team. But from my point of view, this process made George a future world champion, it’s a good thing he didn’t win that race.”
Instead, Russell arguably won a jackpot: a seat alongside the most successful driver in F1 history, and the chance to prove himself to a top team race after race. Russell already knows what he needs to thrive in this environment having done his F2 homework in 2018 while juggling his role as a reserve driver for the star team.
“I think he realized how much work Lewis (Hamilton) and Valtteri (Bottas) do,” Lagrue explained. “Perhaps he thought that driving a Mercedes , he had an advantage and it would probably make his life easier than others, because the level of performance at that time was quite superior compared to other cars.
“He learned a lot that year. I think he was like a sponge in the garage, getting as much information as possible and paying attention to every detail. ‘Okay, this is probably going to be my team in the future, so I need to get to know everyone. I need to understand how they work. Everybody loves Lewis and Valtteri, so I need that and make sure the team will support me.'”
There is no doubt that Russell will spend as much time as he can at Mercedes’ base in Brackley over the winter, putting those lessons to use, preparing for the start of 2022 and continuing his path to the top of Formula 1 .
