George Russell - the inconspicuous star of Mercedes
After the withdrawal of Lewis Hamilton, George Russell became the only Brit driving in the German machinery, however, his talent remained the same. Additionally, he started perceiving himself as the leader of Mercedes. How did he get into Formula 1? Who is his biggest idol? And why is he a fashion icon in my opinion?
George Russell, born on the 15th of February 1998 in King's Lynn, England, showed his talent in a various ways before heading into Formula 1. He won several kart championships and was passionate about Formula 1 overall. There's a picture on the internet from 2009 where a little George Russell is waiting for an autograph of (at that time) one-time world champion Lewis Hamilton - without any clue that he will become his teammate in the future. Nonetheless, after few successful years in karts, he managed to win GP3 in 2017 (which is currently a Formula 3) and Formula 2 in 2018, both as a rookie. Thanks to those results, he moved in 2019 to Formula 1. Unfortunately, to Williams.
To portray the situation in Williams around 2019, it was one of the slowest F1 car compared to the top of the field in the past few years. It was a regular occasion that they were losing around 3 seconds per lap or completed around 2-3 laps less than the leader of the race (due to being lapped). Young Russell had no chance whatsoever of scoring any points. His teammate, Robert Kubica, somehow miraculously scored 1 point in the German GP, after penalization of the opponents. Kubica left Williams after the season and Williams decided to sign no one else than extraordinary Nicolas Latifi, also known as Nicolas Goatifi, one of the worst drivers in the history of Formula 1 and most importantly a paid driver - a driver with many wealthy sponsors. Fortunately, George managed to beat them both (Kubica and Latifi) in pace overall, nevertheless, he hadn't scored any points in his first two seasons in Formula 1.
For his first F1 points, Russell had to wait until his third season. 2021 might considerably be one of the most important years in his career. Firstly, he scored exactly four points in the Hungarian GP after carnage in the first chicane, after inconsistent Valtteri Bottas slid into Lando Norris, Sergio Peréz and Max Verstappen. There were more battles in the first laps on the wet track, however, this inclement weather kicked many drivers out of the race and George had an easier job to do afterwards. After this event, George became confident enough to fight for the results. And he finished on the podium next race! With a Williams! You might say that the Belgian GP was not a proper race - with just 3 laps behind the safety car, due to the heavy rain, however, podium is a podium and he has done the work in qualifying. After those remarkable results, Mercedes decided to sign him for the 2022 season.
The transfer to Mercedes was crucial for his career, however, it was not the first time he was driving a Mercedes in a race. In 2020, before the Sakhir GP, Lewis Hamilton was infected by Covid-19 and George replaced him for the race. He was on the verge of winning it, nevertheless, Mercedes made a few strategic mistakes, which prevented Russell from the battle for top spots. Later in 2022, the German team could not compete for the World Constructors Championship due to the poor performance of the car. However, George showed his talent and won the Brazilian Grand Prix after the amazing consistency in the race with Hamilton finishing second, in 2023 he achieved a podium finish several times and in 2024, he won in Austria and Las Vegas.
The question is: does this amazingly looking guy with deals with brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, have the potential to become a world champion? The answer is yes - in 2025, he scored 63 points in first 4 races (and 1 sprint), which put himself onto 4th place in the current standings. He is showing a great racecraft and pace on track and the ability to adapt to circumstances in any condition. Nonetheless, there will be other tough competitors on the grid - I do not have to introduce the mighty Max Verstappen, the best driver on the grid at the moment. Besides him, there are Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris - the McLaren drivers with high hopes after the last season and winning the World Constructors Championship by themselves. And most importantly for Russell's future - Andrea Kimi Antonelli. 18-year-old Italian and George's teammate in Mercedes, a rising star of tomorrow. In his first season in Formula 1, he is showing his talent at its finest. Will we see a similar situation as in McLaren, where Piastri is outperforming Norris in his third season in Formula 1? That's a great question we do not have an answer for it at the moment…
