George Russell: ‘F1 is riding a wave – but it won’t take much for it to come crashing down’

Primed and ready to converse in the familiar surroundings of the dimly lit Mercedes motorhome, George Russell has the aura of a man who knows how significant 2025 is in his Formula One career. His seventh season overall, fourth with Mercedes, and first without Lewis Hamilton as his teammate. Unyielding in his self-confidence and steadfast in his views, it’s time to step up to the mantle. With a contract expiring at the end of the season, it’s time to be No 1.

“I don’t feel I’ve reached my peak yet,” Russell tells The Independent in Imola, having recorded four podiums in six races, his best start to a season. “What’s changed? It’s been an evolution… I was just driving at 110 per cent too often in the past.

“I was looking for those big wins and I didn’t care if it came at the expense of the odd mistake. I got some big wins, pole at Silverstone… but made mistakes in Montreal and Singapore.

“But now I’ve realised it’s all about being consistent, that’s the real me, that’s how I won F2 and F3. When I jumped in as teammates with Lewis [in 2022], I was in at the deep end because my learning curve had just flatlined at Williams. I learnt more in my first few races at Mercedes than in my last 18 months at Williams.

“But now, I know when to turn the dial up and when to reduce it. I’ve been getting better and better – and I don’t see the plateau point.”

Russell’s engrossing feud with four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen at the back-end of last year, where he labelled the Dutchman a “bully”, accentuates his self-assured and steely mindset, both with the visor down and amid the helter-skelter environment of the F1 paddock.

His duties also extend beyond Mercedes F1 driver; the 27-year-old is a director with the GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers’ Association), effectively a trade union for the 20 drivers on the grid. A role he took on in 2021, Russell has effectively been the drivers’ spokesperson in the wake of chaos at the FIA.

The saga over swearing, which Russell describes as “ridiculous”, has been one of various long-running disputes between the sport’s governing body and those in the cockpit. Russell is the most active in the drivers’ WhatsApp group, his teammate Kimi Antonelli revealed earlier this month. However, he doesn’t regret taking on the role.

“Ultimately, when I signed up to the GPDA, nobody imagined the turn of events which have happened in recent times,” he says, with a warning regarding the future direction of the sport.

“F1 is riding a wave at the moment, but it doesn’t take much for it all to come crashing down. F1 and Liberty Media [commercial owners] have done a great job with stuff like Vegas, Netflix, and the F1 movie. But things are so turbulent at the additional party [the FIA], and they hold so much power in the sport.

“If that comes collapsing down, the whole thing can potentially collapse.”

Russell articulates his responses to matters, which essentially encompass F1’s complex political sphere, with impressive eloquence and maturity. So much so, perhaps, that in another life a political career is not a far-fetched suggestion?

“I don’t think so, but never say never in life,” he chuckles. “I want to win and be successful, whether that be playing padel or cards or racing.

“I will put my own definition on what success is. But being happy is also being successful. My brother [Benjy] has three kids and is happier than ever. I look at him and that’s success.”

It’s easy to become fully embroiled in the madcap, globetrotting world of the F1 ecosystem, but Russell remains grounded despite his keen appetite for race victories. “I read the news daily, it gives me perspective,” he says.

“We think at times this is the most important thing in the world. It’s not. Toto [Wolff, Mercedes CEO] is not here this weekend because his son is graduating, of course that’s more important. When we went through the pandemic, f***ing hell, that was bigger than everything.

“What am I going to be happy about? In this world, we’re surrounded by so many successful people. Some are driven by money, but if you take Musk, Bezos or Bill Gates, that isn’t their definition of success. With Gates, for example, it would be his charity work. He will pass being satisfied or not by the impact he’s having there.”

With Russell, it’s clear-cut for now: he’s always striving for new heights. More performance and more race wins. Yet also, more time to rest.

“Burn-out is a semi-regular occurrence,” he reveals, amid 24 races a year across six continents and a swathe of commercial and sponsorship appearances. He notes that all his off-track engagements will be a critical element of upcoming contract negotiations with Mercedes, which he insists he is “relaxed” about.

“Ultimately, I’m not going to sit here and say my life is rough. It isn’t. But it’s about remembering that I’m a professional athlete, top five in the world at what I do. It’s about operating at 100 per cent. If I’m not, I can’t perform.

“The racing is the easy bit. I’d be happy with more races, without the other stuff that goes with it.”

Of course, by “stuff”, he also means media commitments, of which he has a multitude every Thursday of race week, making his engaging and thoughtful responses all the more noteworthy.

His priorities remain obvious, though. Joining Mercedes at just the wrong time – his first season in 2022 marked the end of the Silver Arrows’ near decade-long dominance of the sport – Russell is desperate for the sweet taste of victory to become a weekly regularity. New engine and chassis rules in 2026, at this early stage, appear geared towards a potential Mercedes renaissance.

“What drives me? I simply want to win,” he concludes, ahead of round eight this weekend in Monaco, where he resides away from the racetrack.

“Some people want money, some want happiness, some want that achievement. But you need to tell yourself which one it is, then chase your own dreams. And not the dreams of someone else.”