3 Things You Didn’t Know About George Russell

A red flag earned Russell his first-ever podium

Before joining Mercedes, Russell spent 2019 to 2021 at Williams, developing his skills as a young driver. The reward came at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, where he stood on the podium for the first time in his F1 career, and became the first Williams driver to finish in the top three since Lance Stroll scored a P3 for the team at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

It was a peculiar second-place finish for Russell, hinging entirely on his performance in Qualifying that Saturday. In the rain, Russell put down the lap of his career (up to that point) to secure a spot on the front row with a P2 just behind Max Verstappen. 

Then came Sunday, and brought with it even more rain. The endless downpour saw the race start get delayed by over three hours, and after just three laps under Safety Car, the race was red flagged and the Race Directors called it a day. This ultimately meant that the order the drivers started in on the grid was the order they finished, with Russell retaining his P2 from Saturday. 

For a team who had come in dead last in the Constructors’ Championship over the last three years, it was a massive success. 

“I mean, I’ll take it,” said Russell after the race. “In our position we’ve got to take it how it comes. We’re not often rewarded for a good qualifying and today, I guess, we were. And it would have been incredibly hard to keep hold of that P2.”

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Tires cost him a podium on his surprise Mercedes debut

Russell officially became a Mercedes driver in 2022, but his debut with the team came much earlier than that. During the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, Russell stepped up to the plate when the Silver Arrows found themselves one man short when seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton was forced to sit out of the race after testing positive for COVID-19. 

With his long-term career goal of getting a full-time Mercedes seat in mind, Russell gave everything he had and secured P2 on Saturday’s Qualifying. This put him on the front row on Sunday, next to his teammate for the weekend and pole sitter Valtteri Bottas, setting Mercedes up for excellent results.

Things looked like they were heading in the right direction at the start of the race for Russell, as he got a clean getaway and stole the lead from Bottas in the opening lap. He kept that lead for the first 63 of 87 laps, until a Virtual Safety Car was called while safety marshals recovered Williams driver Jack Aitken’s car after he came to a stop on track. 

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Naturally, Mercedes called Russell in for fresh tires during the VSC, and this is when things started to unravel. Instead of bringing Russell’s tires out, the team brought Bottas’ front set. The error, caused by confusion over the team radio, was only noticed after Russell left the pit, forcing him to come in again for the correct ones. This cost him the lead and dropped him down to fifth. 

Clawing back up to P2, Russell then suffered a puncture that set him back to P14 and from there he ultimately fought back to get into the points with a P9 finish. The result was a tough pill to swallow after such a strong performance for most of the Grand Prix, ultimately leading to the now well-known Russell quote, “I was forecast for a podium? F**k, how did we mess this up?"

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He secured his F1 seat via a powerpoint presentation

When you think of an F1 driver, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the image of a charismatic, elite athlete and not an accountant. But that is the vibe that Russell gave when he walked into the Mercedes headquarters at 15, set on securing his spot in the Mercedes motorsport family.

“He notified me via e-mail that he was in need of advice,” recalled Toto Wolff while speaking with Sky Germany, “told me he had previously won the British karting championship and just become British Formula 4 champion.

“He came to my office, all alone in a black suit with a black tie – it must have been his communion suit because it was a bit tight – and a PowerPoint presentation.

“In this presentation, he listed every reason why he could be a successful Mercedes driver in the future.”

Of the presentation itself and Russell’s first impression, Wolff said, “It was well made, although he was a bit nervous. He also looked a little more like an accountant than a racing driver.”

But having accountant vibes and great driving skills are not mutually exclusive, and indeed Russell’s presentation showed Wolff everything he needed to know to sign the young talent to Mercedes and set him off on a career headed straight for F1.

Want more surprising facts about this year’s F1 drivers and race tracks? Sign up for our newsletter for a bonus fact about George Russell, and be sure to check out our other Speed Reads:

• 3 Things You Didn’t Know About the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix 
• 3 Things You Didn’t Know About the Monaco Grand Prix 

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