George Russell

British racing driver George William Russell was born in February 1998 in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England to Steve and Allison Russell

Like many professional racers, George Russell began establish his dominancy on the track at an early age with forays into karting. Starting in 2006 at age 7, Russell began karting and rose through the ranks to the cadet class by 2009 when he became the British Open Champion.

The accolades kept rolling for George Russel in 2010 as he progressed to the Rotax Mini Max category. Major accomplishments included winning the Kartmasters British Grand Prix and multiple championships. 

In the KF3 class, Russell moved on to clench the CIK-FIA European Championship. In 2012, he retained the title. At the 2013 World Championship, Russell ranked 19th as he bid the karting world farewell with 13 titles won in five years.

In 2014, Russell branched out by joining with Lanan Racing as a driver for the 2014 Formula 4 season. The 16-year-old jumped straight to the current championship team and hoped to build on their successes while winning a championship his first year. 

After moving up to single-seaters, Russell participated in the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Championship and ranked fourth overall with one finish at the podium. Additional competitions in 2014 included two rounds in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0.

Delivering on his goal, George Russell claimed the crown as the BRDC F4 Champion for 2014 in a nail-biting race at Snetterton. It was his fifth win of the season and helped him clinch the title by a narrow three points. 

In the year that wouldn’t quit, George Russell became the youngest ever winner of the McLaren Autosport BRDC award. Prizes included £100,000 and a Formula 1 test. 

In January 2015, George Russell joined the Carlin team to kick off his time in Formula 3 racing. He won the first round of the FIA European Formula 3 Championship season at Silverstone and finished sixth overall in the championship. Russell was a runner-up to Charles Leclerc for the Rookie Championship.

In the eighth year of the BRDC SuperStars scheme, George Russell was one of 12 drivers selected for a series of events and workshops designed to polish soft skills, such as media and marketing, and improve physical and mental acumen. Russell was the youngest member of the class.

Following his successes at each subsequent racing level, George Russell gained his first experiences in Formula One in 2017 as part of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport junior driver program. He participated in both days of the Budapest test and logged additional time for Force India at the Brazilian Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi Grand prix. Russell also test drove for the team at the post-Spanish Grand Prix the following year.

In 2016, George Russell moved over to Hitech GP and finished third in the standings. For 2017, he participated in the GP3 Series season and ultimately secured the title at Jerez before the final race. Upon winning the championship, Russell held four wins, six podium visits, three pole positions and five fastest laps.

Russell joined up with ART Grand Prix as a driver in January 2018. He competed in the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship and started the year strong with a fifth place finish in the opening round. He moved on to wins in Baku, Barcelona, and Le Castellet. With the third victory of the season, Russell secured the championship and won the title following the race at Abu Dhabi. 

Russell’s first season in Formula One was with the Williams team and racing the Williams FW42. Ultimately, a series of retirements due to mechanical issues as well as other limitations led to Russell ending his rookie year of 2019 without any points.

Following a series of mishaps in early races of the 2020 season, Russell was a stand-in at Mercedes during the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix. Russell filled in for Lewis Hamilton after Hamilton tested positive for COVID-19. Russell finished ninth in the race and scored a fastest lap, earning three points overall. His performance was highly praised.

After his successful effort for Mercedes in 2020, George Russell was brought over to the team to join Lewis Hamilton in 2022. In his first 2022 race for the team, Russell achieved a fourth place finish, and he reached the podium with third place at the Australian Grand Prix

Still signed with Williams for the 2021 season, George Russell achieved his highest standings yet with a 15th place ranking in the driver’s championship. He scored 16 of 23 points for the Williams team in 2021. At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Russell earned his first points on the Williams team.

At the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix, George Russell was able to hold off Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to secure the pole position – his first in Formula 1.