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George William Russell (born 15 February 1998) is a British racing driver, who made his debut for Williams at the start of the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship.[1] An accomplished driver in junior formulae and a member of the Mercedes-Benz Junior Team, Russell had previous experience of F1 prior to his debut, having tested for Mercedes and acted as a reserve driver for the Silver Arrows and Williams during 2018.[2][3]

Background[]

Russell's career would begin in karting at the age of eight, before progressing through the ranks to become a two-time CIK-FIA European Champion in 2012. A year later Russell came 19th in the KF1 CIK-FIA World Championship, before making a move to Formula Renault 2.0 Alps in 2014.

Single Seater Surge[]

The 2.0 Alps was not to be Russell's only venture in Formula Renault in 2014, with the Brit also taking part in the Eurocup at select races. Furthermore, the Brit would compete in the BRDC Formula 4 Championship, duly snatching that title at the end of the season. Indeed, despite failing to win in his other categories, Russell's triumph in F4 earned him a GP3 Series test, as well as the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award and a test with McLaren Racing in a Formula One car.[4]

For 2015 Russell gained a seat in the Formula 3 European Championship with Carlin Motorsport, and duly won the opening race of the season. A further series of strong performances would see Russell just miss out on the title to Charles Leclerc, with Russell ultimately sticking with the F3 Championship for 2016. An additional couple of victories saw Russell finish the season in third, before making the move to GP3 in 2017.

Mercedes Member[]

On 19 January 2017 Russell signed two contracts, one to join the Mercedes-Benz Junior Team, putting him in a prime position for a future Formula One career, and the other to join ART Grand Prix in GP3.[5] It was a relatively slow start to Russell's GP3 career, with the Brit having to wait until his second race weekend to stand on top of the podium. However, that result would be the start of a huge run of podiums and victories for Russell, with the Brit taking four wins to head into the final round having already secured the title.[6]

For 2018 Russell moved to the FIA Formula 2 Championship, again racing with ART and teammate Jack Aitken.[7] The Brit duly made a strong start to his F2 career, claiming victory in only his fourth F2 start, before launching a bid to become Champion at the first attempt. Indeed, Russell would head to the 2018 season finale in the lead of the Championship, and overwhelming favourite to take the crown against Alexander Albon.

Formula One Career[]

Russell first came to the attention of the Formula One field in 2017, with Mercedes signing the young Brit up to their Junior Team.[5] That deal resulted in Russell becoming their test/reserve driver for the season, with a run-out at the 2017 Budapest Test for the Silver Arrows, as well as a few FP1 appearances later in the season for Force India.[8] Russell subsequently signed as Williams and Force India's test and reserve driver for the 2018 season, as well as a Mercedes test driver alongside Pascal Wehrlein.[3]

Williams Wrestles[]

For 2019, however, Mercedes managed to engineer a full race drive for Russell, with the Brit signed up to join Mercedes premium customers Williams for the year.[1] The Brit was set to replace Lance Stroll at the team, and be partnered by Sergey Sirotkin. However the team chose not to retain Sirotkin and instead chose Robert Kubica to be the Brit's teammate.

George will continue to race for Williams in 2020.

After Lewis Hamilton was tested positive for COVID-19 after the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, Russell was announced to replace Hamilton in Mercedes at the next race, thus making his debut in the team.[9]

Formula One Statistical Overview[]

Formula One Record[]

Year Entrant Team WDC Points WDC Pos. Report
Junior Career
2017–2021 Mercedes Young Driver Programme
Senior Career
2017 Germany Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes Test Driver
India Sahara Force India F1 Team Force India-Mercedes Test Driver
2018 Germany Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team[2] Mercedes Test Driver
United Kingdom Racing Point Force India F1 Team[2] Force India-Mercedes Test Driver
United Kingdom Williams Martini Racing[3] Williams-Mercedes Test Driver
2019 United Kingdom ROKiT Williams Racing[1] Williams-Mercedes 0 20th Report
2020 United Kingdom Williams Racing Williams-Mercedes 3 18th Report
Germany Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes
2021 United Kingdom Williams Racing Williams-Mercedes 16 15th Report
2022 Germany Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes 275 4th Report
2023 Germany Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes 175 8th Report
2024 Germany Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes Report

Career Statistics[]

Statistics correct as of 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Entries 106
Starts 106
Pole Positions 1
Sprint Poles 0
Front Row Starts 9
Race Wins 1
Sprint Wins 1
Podiums 11
Sprint Podiums 1
Fastest Laps 6
Sprint Fastest Laps 2
Points 487
Laps Raced 5560
Distance Raced 27,778 km (17,260 mi)
Races Led 6
Laps Led 164
Distance Led 670 km (420 mi)

Race Wins[]

Win Number Grand Prix
1 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix

Career Results[]

Complete Formula One Results
Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Pts Pos
2017 Flag of Australia Flag of China Flag of Bahrain Flag of Russia Flag of Spain Flag of Monaco Flag of Canada Flag of Azerbaijan Flag of Austria Flag of Great Britain Flag of Hungary Flag of Belgium Flag of Italy Flag of Singapore Flag of Malaysia Flag of Japan Flag of the United States Flag of Mexico Flag of Brazil Flag of the United Arab Emirates 0
TD TD
2018 Flag of Australia Flag of Bahrain Flag of China Flag of Azerbaijan Flag of Spain Flag of Monaco Flag of Canada Flag of France Flag of Austria Flag of Great Britain Flag of Germany Flag of Hungary Flag of Belgium Flag of Italy Flag of Singapore Flag of Russia Flag of Japan Flag of the United States Flag of Mexico Flag of Brazil Flag of the United Arab Emirates 0
2019 Flag of Australia Flag of Bahrain Flag of China Flag of Azerbaijan Flag of Spain Flag of Monaco Flag of Canada Flag of France Flag of Austria Flag of Great Britain Flag of Germany Flag of Hungary Flag of Belgium Flag of Italy Flag of Singapore Flag of Russia Flag of Japan Flag of Mexico Flag of the United States Flag of Brazil Flag of the United Arab Emirates 0 20th
16th 15th 16th 15th 17th 15th 16th 19th 18th 14th 11th 16th 15th 14th Ret Ret 16th 16th 17th 12th 17th
2020 Flag of Austria Flag of Styria Flag of Hungary Flag of the United Kingdom Flag of the United Kingdom Flag of Spain Flag of Belgium Flag of Italy Flag of Tuscany Flag of Russia Flag of Germany Flag of Portugal Flag of Italy Flag of Turkey Flag of Bahrain Flag of Bahrain Flag of the United Arab Emirates 3 18th
Ret 16th 18th 12th 18th 17th Ret 14th 11th 18th Ret 14th Ret 16th 12th 9th 15th
2021 Flag of Bahrain Flag of Italy Flag of Portugal Flag of Spain Flag of Monaco Flag of Azerbaijan Flag of France Flag of Styria Flag of Austria Flag of the United Kingdom Flag of Hungary Flag of Belgium Flag of the Netherlands Flag of Italy Flag of Russia Flag of Turkey Flag of the United States Flag of Mexico Flag of Brazil Flag of Qatar Flag of Saudi Arabia Flag of the United Arab Emirates 16 15th
14th Ret 16th 14th 14th 17th 12th Ret 11th 12th 8th 2nd
[10]
17th 9th 10th 15th 14th 16th 13th 17th 19th Ret
2022 Flag of Bahrain Flag of Saudi Arabia Flag of Australia Flag of Italy Flag of the United States Flag of Spain Flag of Monaco Flag of Azerbaijan Flag of Canada Flag of the United Kingdom Flag of Austria Flag of France Flag of Hungary Flag of Belgium Flag of the Netherlands Flag of Italy Flag of Singapore Flag of Japan Flag of the United States Flag of Mexico Flag of Brazil Flag of the United Arab Emirates 275 4th
4th 5th 3rd 4th 5th 3rd 5th 3rd 4th Ret 4th 3rd 3rdP 4th 2nd 3rd 14th 8th 5th 4th 1stP 5th
2023 Flag of Bahrain Flag of Saudi Arabia Flag of Australia Flag of Azerbaijan Flag of the United States Flag of Italy Flag of Monaco Flag of Spain Flag of Canada Flag of Austria Flag of the United Kingdom Flag of Hungary Flag of Belgium Flag of the Netherlands Flag of Italy Flag of Singapore Flag of Japan Flag of Qatar Flag of the United States Flag of Mexico Flag of Brazil Flag of the United States Flag of the United Arab Emirates 175 8th
7th 4th Ret 8th 4th C 5th 3rd Ret 7th 5th 6th 6th 17th 5th 16th 7th 4th 5th 6th Ret 8th 3rd
Key
Symbol Meaning Symbol Meaning
1st Winner Ret Retired
2nd Podium finish DSQ Disqualified
3rd DNQ Did not qualify
5th Points finish DNPQ Did not pre-qualify
14th Non-points finish TD Test driver
Italics Scored point(s) for Fastest Lap DNS Did not start
18th Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) NC Non-classified finish (<90% race distance)
4thP Qualified for pole position [+] More Symbols

See Also[]

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Andrew Benson, 'Formula 1: George Russell joins Williams to become third British driver in 2019', bbc.co.uk/sport, (British Broadcasting Company, 12/10/2018), https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/45831954, (Accessed 12/10/2018)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mitchell, Scott (22 February 2018). "Wehrlein, Russell to share Mercedes F1 reserve driver role in 2018". Autosport (Motorsport Network). https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/134490/wehrlein-russell-to-share-mercedes-reserve-role. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Benson, Andrew (23 February 2018). "Oliver Rowland: Williams name Briton as their young driver for 2018 season". bbc.co.uk/sport (BBC). http://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/43168585. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  4. Scott Mitchell, 'George Russell wins 2014 McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award', autosport.com, (Haymarket Publications, 07/11/2014), https://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117079, (Accessed 27/06/2018)
  5. 5.0 5.1 Laurence Edmondson, 'British racing driver George Russell added to Mercedes' junior programme', espn.co.uk, (ESPN Inc., 19/01/2017), http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/18508537/british-racing-driver-george-russell-added-mercedes-junior-programme, (Accessed 27/06/2018)
  6. 'GEORGE RUSSELL TAKES THE 2017 GP3 SERIES TITLE AT JEREZ', georgerussellracing.com, (George Russell Promotions, 08/10/2017), https://www.georgerussellracing.com/press/george-russell-takes-the-2017-gp3-series-title-at-jerez, (Accessed 27/06/2018)
  7. Valentin Khorounzhiy, 'Mercedes F1 junior Russell seals F2 promotion with ART', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 18/01/2018), https://www.motorsport.com/fia-f2/news/gp3-champion-russell-seals-f2-promotion-with-art-996926/?s=1, (Accessed 14/06/2018)
  8. AG, Mercedes-Benz by Daimler, www.mercedesamgf1.com, (Mercedes-Benz A.G., 2017), https://www.mercedesamgf1.com/en/mercedes-amg-f1/george-russell-to-test-w08-in-budapest/, (Accessed 12/10/2018)
  9. "Mercedes Confirms George Russell for Sakhir GP". www.mercedesamgf1.com. 2 December 2020. https://www.mercedesamgf1.com/en/news/2020/2020-sakhir-grand-prix/2020-sakhir-grand-prix-reserve-driver-announcement/. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  10. Race stopped after 2/44 Laps. Half points awarded
V T E United Kingdom George Russell
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V T E Mercedes Mercedes Grand Prix
Current drivers
44. United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton · 63. United Kingdom George Russell
World Champions
Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio (1954, 1955) · United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) · Germany Nico Rosberg (2016)
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Michael Schumacher · Juan Manuel Fangio · Nico Rosberg · Valtteri Bottas · Hans Herrmann · Karl Kling · Stirling Moss · André Simon · Piero Taruffi · Hermann Lang
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Nick Fry · Bob Bell · Aldo Costa · Toto Wolff
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Norbert Haug · Alfred Neubauer · Max Sailer · Rudolf Uhlenhaut · Paddy Lowe
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V T E Teams and Drivers
2019 Teams and Drivers
Teams Alfa RomeoFerrariHaasMcLarenMercedesRacing PointRed BullRenaultToro RossoWilliams
Engines FerrariHondaMercedesRenault
Drivers 3 Ricciardo • 4 Norris • 5 Vettel • 7 Räikkönen • 8 Grosjean • 10 Gasly • 11 Pérez • 16 Leclerc • 18 Stroll • 20 Magnussen • 23 Albon • 26 Kvyat • 27 Hülkenberg • 33 Verstappen • 44 Hamilton • 55 Sainz • 63 Russell • 77 Bottas • 88 Kubica • 99 Giovinazzi
Other Drivers AitkenAlonsoBuemiCalderónCâmaraCorreaDelétrazEricssonFittipaldiFuocoGutiérrezHartleyLatifiOconRigonSchumacherSirotkinTicktumVandoorneWehrleinYamamoto
2020 Teams and Drivers
Teams Alfa RomeoAlphaTauriFerrariHaasMcLarenMercedesRacing PointRed BullRenaultWilliams
Engines FerrariHondaMercedesRenault
Drivers 3 Ricciardo • 4 Norris • 5 Vettel • 6 Latifi • 7 Räikkönen • 8 Grosjean • 10 Gasly • 11 Pérez • 16 Leclerc • 18 Stroll • 20 Magnussen • 23 Albon • 26 Kvyat • 31 Ocon • 33 Verstappen • 44 Hamilton • 55 Sainz • 63 Russell • 77 Bottas • 99 Giovinazzi
Other Drivers AitkenBuemiCalderónCâmaraDelétrazFittipaldiHülkenbergIlottKubicaKvyatNissanySchumacherSirotkinTsunodaVandoorneVipsZhou
2021 Teams and Drivers
Teams Alfa RomeoAlphaTauriAlpineAston MartinFerrariHaasMcLarenMercedesRed BullWilliams
Engines FerrariHondaMercedesRenault
Drivers 3 Ricciardo • 4 Norris • 5 Vettel • 6 Latifi • 7 Räikkönen • 9 Mazepin • 10 Gasly • 11 Pérez • 14 Alonso • 16 Leclerc • 18 Stroll • 22 Tsunoda • 31 Ocon • 33 Verstappen • 44 Hamilton • 47 Schumacher • 55 Sainz • 63 Russell • 77 Bottas • 99 Giovinazzi
Other Drivers AitkenAlbonCalderónFittipaldiHülkenbergIlottKubicaKvyatNissanydi RestaVandoorneVipsde VriesZhou
2022 Teams and Drivers
Teams Alfa RomeoAlphaTauriAlpineAston MartinFerrariHaasMcLarenMercedesRed BullWilliams
Engines FerrariMercedesRBPTRenault
Drivers 1 Verstappen • 3 Ricciardo • 4 Norris • 5 Vettel • 6 Latifi • 10 Gasly • 11 Pérez • 14 Alonso • 16 Leclerc • 18 Stroll • 20 Magnussen • 22 Tsunoda • 23 Albon • 24 Zhou • 31 Ocon • 44 Hamilton • 47 Schumacher • 55 Sainz • 63 Russell • 77 Bottas
Other Drivers AitkenBuemiDoohanFittipaldiGiovinazziHülkenbergKubicaLawsonNissanyPiastridi RestaSchumacherVandoorneVipsde Vries
2023 Teams and Drivers
Teams Alfa RomeoAlphaTauriAlpineAston MartinFerrariHaasMcLarenMercedesRed BullWilliams
Engines FerrariHonda RBPTMercedesRenault
Drivers 1 Verstappen • 2 Sargeant • 3 Ricciardo • 4 Norris • 10 Gasly • 11 Pérez • 14 Alonso • 16 Leclerc • 18 Stroll • 20 Magnussen • 22 Tsunoda • 23 Albon • 24 Zhou • 27 Hülkenberg • 31 Ocon • 44 Hamilton • 55 Sainz • 63 Russell • 77 Bottas • 81 Piastri
Other Drivers PourchaireDoohanDrugovichVandoorneGiovinazziShwartzmanFittipaldiPalouSchumacherHadjarDe VriesVestiO'WardDennsO'SullivanLawson
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