George Russell made an impression during his debut season at Williams in 2019, which would end up earning him his current seat at Mercedes.
The Briton would not waste time proving his credentials off the back of winning the GP3 and F2 championships in the junior formula ladder, getting close to points finishes for Williams.
Toto Wolff signed Russell to Mercedes in 2017 and put him on their junior programme, having beaten established talents Lando Norris and Alex Albon.
During his first years at Williams, Russell admitted that it was hard to watch Norris scoring points while he struggled in an underdeveloped car.
Russell would go on to score his first points for Williams in 2021 at the Hungarian Grand Prix finishing eighth, while he would follow it up with an impressive qualifying in Belgium which put him second on the grid.
There was one race Russell knew was a turning point for himself, which he revealed when speaking on the High Performance podcast.
George Russell names Monaco Grand Prix as race that changed ‘mentality’ in F1
Russell spent most of his Williams career at the back of the grid, beating teammates Robert Kubica and Nicholas Latifi.
His teammate was his nearest rival due to how off the pace the Williams was, but it took a while before Russell could use the experience to his advantage for later in his career.
“There was one race in Monaco, and I was behind the next gaggle of cars, and I kind of thought ‘I’ll just bring the car home because what’s the point in risking it?’ I’ve achieved all I can in this race, I can’t beat the cars ahead and I’ve already beaten the car behind,” said Russell.
“There was a moment in that race where I thought, ‘This will teach me nothing, I’m just driving around for the next hour bringing the car home, this isn’t going to help me if I’m ever racing for Mercedes, a race win, or championships’
“So I turned it up and went flat out around every single lap, around Monaco, skimmed everything for 19th position on the grid. Because that’s what I felt I needed to do to learn and progress, and from that moment on, for the rest of the season, every single race was an opportunity for me to build a greater toolbox of experience to tap into for when I need it for the future.”
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George Russell becomes the team leader at Mercedes in 2025
Russell has taken on the role as team leader at Mercedes in 2025, after the team signed 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
It has been a big step up for the Briton, but Russell has produced some great drives so far this year, including an inspired drive at Bahrain despite dealing with car issues.
Wolff is frustrated with the comments directed at Russell, and believes he deserves more fanfare for his impressive performances which have brought Mercedes a decent haul of points.
Russell will be looking to build on this consistency and lead Mercedes to a potential Constructors’ Championship challenge, after McLaren and Ferrari did so in 2024.
