George Russell is a British racing driver who drives for the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team in the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship.
Date of Birth: | 15 February 1998 |
Birthplace: | King's Lynn, Norfolk, England |
Height: | 1.85 meters (6 feet 1 inch) |
First F1 Race: | 2019 Australian Grand Prix |
First F1 Win: | 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix |
2024 F1 Team: | Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team |
F1 Championships: | 0 |
F1 Wins: | 2 |
Number: | 63 |
George William Russell was born on February 15, 1998, to his parents, Alison and Steve. He is the youngest of three siblings.
Mercedes driver has a sister, Cara, and a brother, Benjy. Benjy was involved in competitive karting, which inspired George, and he attributes using the number 63 to his brother as well.
In his karting career that began in 2006, George Rusell has become the British Open champion, MSA British champion, Super One British champion, Formula Kart Stars British champion, SKUSA Supernationals champion, and CIK-FIA European Champion.
After making his debut in single-seaters, Russell moved through multiple rookie series. Some of his notable accomplishments include winning the Formula 4 Championship, Formula 3 Championship, GP3 Series Championship, and Formula 2 Championship as well.
Russell is one of the very few drivers among
Nico Rosberg,
Lewis Hamilton,
Nico Hulkenberg, and
Charles Leclerc, to win the GP3/Formula 3 series and GP2/ Formula 2 championships in consecutive seasons. In 2018, Russell signed a multi-year deal with the
Willams F1 team.
Joining then one of the slowest teams in the grid, Russell did not have it easy in Williams; however, during seasons 2019, 2020, and 2021, Russell consistently outperformed his teammates with superb performances and earned a reputation among paddock as a driver with great potential.
In 2022, George Russel signed a contract with Mercedes to replace
Valtteri Bottas and race alongside seven-time world champion - Lewis Hamilton. Having a lot more successful and experienced F1 drivers alongside, Russell showed his strengths again as he finished the 2022 season 35 points ahead of his teammate.
It was also in 2022 that Russell saw his first win in
Formula 1 at the
Sao Paulo Grand Prix, finishing ahead of the seven-time world champion and scoring a one-two finish for Mercedes. Russell’s deal with Mercedes lasts until the end of 2025.