George Russell in 2024
Russell is currently in his sixth season as a full-time Formula 1 driver, but, alongside his teammate Hamilton, is struggling to compete with the unbeatable Red Bull and Max Verstappen. Russell is focused on improving the Mercedes W14 so the team can get into a title-contending position in 2024. The two were very closely matched in 2022, with the younger driver winning the duel overall. In 2023, Russell was behind Hamilton by 59 points in the World Championship.
Russell has recently signed a contract extension, which will see him through until 2025, where he hopes to have more success at the front of the grid. In 2024, he will want to lay down a marker to Toto Wolff. Lewis Hamilton will leave the team at the end of 2024 to move to Ferrari, so the young Brit has a chance of taking the leaders seat at Mercedes.
George Russell biography
His victories for ART in the 2017 GP3 Series and the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship propelled him into his seat at Williams. In his debut F1 season, Russell struggled in a mediocre Williams, with his best result being an 11th-place finish in Germany.
A year later, he scored his first points in F1; however, it was for Mercedes. The Brit stepped in for Hamilton for the Sakhir Grand Prix and had a superb debut, and many believe this was the starting point for him securing a place for Mercedes in the 2022 season.
Russell’s success for Williams
Coming into the 2019 season as a rookie, everyone knew it would be tough for Russell, especially as Williams were not in the top half of the grid. It took two and a half seasons for the Brit to score points with the team. However, when he claimed an eighth-place finish in Hungary, his teammate at the time, Nicholas Latifi, also found himself in the points, creating a very special weekend for the team.
Just one race later, at an extremely wet Spa circuit in Belgium, the team had even more to celebrate, as Russell finished second in the shortened race and claimed a podium for the team. This was their first since 2017 when Lance Stroll found himself in the top three. He went on to claim two more points finishes for the team, in Monza and Sochi, and ending his time at Williams on a happy note before he was promoted to Mercedes.
The Brit becomes a race winner in Brazil
With seven podiums already to his name coming into Brazil, Russell’s debut season with Mercedes couldn’t have gone any better apart from one thing. A win.
Coming into the race in Sao Paulo, he would have had hopes and dreams of standing on the podium, and that’s exactly what he did. With rain pouring down on Saturday, Kevin Magnussen took his maiden pole of his career, with Russell starting only two places behind in third. With the Dane on pole and Max Verstappen starting second, only two people stood in the way of the Brit for the Sprint.
This soon became no problem for him, as he stormed to a Sprint victory and soon turned it into a race victory, leading his teammate Hamilton over the line for a Mercedes one-two.
George Russell popularity
Russell is one of the popular future stars on the grid, certainly in the United Kingdom. He is known for being part of the new ‘golden generation’ including Lando Norris, Alex Albon and Charles Leclerc. The quad also gained a large following due to their live streams during the COVID-19 pandemic and the content created from this.
What is George Russell's greatest strength as an F1 driver?
When it comes to gritty drivers, look no further than George Russell. His experiences at the front of the grid in his Championship winning F2 season passed directly into F1, allowing for some great and consistent driving when handed a car, which allowed him to do so. His ability to extract the maximum from his car and extremely impressive racecraft made him successful in driving for Williams and Mercedes.
