George Russell will hit 130 starts when Formula 1 returns in 2025, and with that F1 Oversteer would like to look back on some of the best moments in his career.
The Briton has been on the grid since the 2019 season having made his debut at 21 years old after winning the Formula 2 title the previous year. The championship was hard-fought between the Briton and his old karting rivals Lando Norris and Alex Albon.
Russell has only been with two teams in his F1 career so far: Williams and Mercedes, having started off at the back of the grid with the struggling team. After finishing a high of 15th place with the team in 2021, he switched to Mercedes in 2022 to replace Valtteri Bottas and achieved greater success.
Where did George Russell make his Formula 1 debut?
Russell made his F1 debut at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix with Williams. After qualifying the race in P19 place, he went on to finish in P16 following retirements from three other drivers.
Much of Russell’s debut season was spent beating Robert Kubica, who returned to F1 after the injury he sustained in 2011 during a rally race limited the use of his right arm. Russell would go on to out-qualify and out-race him at all 21 rounds.
George Russell took his first pole position in Formula 1 at the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix
Russell’s first pole would come at the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix, when in the wet conditions he was one of the last to set a lap time. Russell had beat the lap time initially set by Carlos Sainz by 0.044s.
The Briton became the 105th driver to take a pole position in F1, having timed his final run to perfection.
In the race, Russell would go on to finish in third place despite a spin from eventual race winner Max Verstappen while leading.
When did George Russell take his first podium finish in Formula 1?
Russell took his first podium in unusual circumstances at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, but it showcased his ability to take opportunities in difficult situations. Qualifying for the race took place under treacherous conditions, with Russell putting in a spectacular effort to qualify in second place.
The race was planned to run for 44 laps but ended after just three due to the wet conditions. Two laps were completed under the Safety Car before a red flag stopped the race on lap three.
The sporting regulations require results to be taken from the end of lap one, so half points were given to drivers who finished in the top 10 positions because less than 75% of the original race distance had been covered. This meant Russell was only awarded nine points instead of the usual 18 for finishing in second place.
George Russell won his first Formula 1 race at the 2022 Sao Pualo Grand Prix
Russell came close to victory when he substituted Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 Sakhir Grand Prix, but would ultimately have to wait until the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Mercedes was having a torrid season after introducing the ‘zero pod’ sidepod concept, but they managed to find pace at Interlagos. After winning the Sprint race, the rules at the time stipulated that Russell would start from pole position.
From pole he led a lights-to-flag victory, winning the race by 1.5s from teammate Hamilton who climbed up from third on the grid.
George Russell has had some brilliant drives in his F1 career
One of Russell’s best drives came at the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix, when he started from fourth on the grid and was leading the race at one stage after incidents for Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen.
Polesitter Charles Leclerc retired from the race after 27 laps, which enabled Russell to inherit the lead. Mercedes were pressured into pitting Russell earlier than they wanted by Red Bull, which enabled Verstappen and Sergio Perez to pass him for the lead.
Russell would go on to finish in third place and while it did not end in triumph, given Mercedes were one of the team suffering badly from the porpoising effect at the start of the 2022 regulation set, it was a small victory for Mercedes in the short term.
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