George Russell admitted he did not expect his role as director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association to become so political over time.

Russell took on the role in 2021 as he headed up the drivers’ union along with Sebastian Vettel, but after Vettel’s retirement the following year he’s now the only active driver to be a director of the GPDA.

George Russell ‘never expected GPDA role to be so political’

The role of the GPDA is, in large part, to consult with the FIA over matters of driver interest, with Russell acting as the voice of the grid over matters of safety, sporting regulations and how the rules are applied in race-by-race usage.

Russell works alongside chairman and former F1 driver Alexander Wurz, as well as director and lawyer Anastasia Fowle – the first non-driver to become a GPDA director since its inception.

The Mercedes driver has been a director for moments such as the GPDA releasing an open letter calling on the FIA to address its recent treatment of the drivers, with matters of compliance now set to be sent directly to president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and the president of the FIA senate after changes were voted through at the FIA general assembly in early December.

When asked for his response to that development, Russell admitted he took on his GPDA role wanting to help others in terms of driver safety and in sporting terms, and did not anticipate the level of politics that came with it.

“When I signed up in my role as GPDA [director], I never expected to have so much on my hands and for it to be so political,” Russell told media, as per Autosport.

“I don’t really understand any of this side of the sport. And it was more from a sporting perspective and safety perspective that I wanted to get my hands dirty with.

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“Whereas, now, it seems all we’re talking about is the politics of the sport.

“I don’t want to comment too much on it [the FIA’s compliance system changes] because I’m not educated enough to make those assumptions.

“But I think what it’s raised [is that] all the drives are united, that solely we want the best for the sport. We want transparency. And we want to help the FIA and as simple as that.”

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