Exclusive: The “sickening” moments pushing George Russell not to stay silent .
As part of a wide-ranging interview, George Russell explains why spearheading the F1 drivers’ association GPDA is so important to himHalfway through his seventh season in Formula 1, George Russell has become a stalwart of Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton’s heir, but the 27-year-old has also firmly established himself off the track.
Russell has become one of the most outspoken drivers on the grid, never shunning tough questions on the bigger picture, whether the focus is on safety or the direction the championship’s governing body the FIA is taking.Russell joined the F1 drivers’ association GPDA entering his third season in 2021, when he was still driving for Williams.
At the time the Briton replaced outgoing Romain Grosjean, and after Sebastian Vettel’s retirement the following year Russell was the only active driver in the association until Williams man Carlos Sainz joined him earlier this year. Russell and Sainz work alongside chairman and former F1 driver Alexander Wurz, as well as legal representative Anastasia Fowle.The GPDA has played a crucial role in campaigning for safety over the years, including a big push behind the halo cockpit protection device that initially faced plenty of criticism from teams and fans.Speaking to Motorsport.com, Russell has explained why his role at the GPDA to advance safety is so close to his heart, and how several horrific accidents have crystallised his desire to leave motorsport in a better place than he found it.”I’m not chasing to leave any legacy.
That’s never been the intention. It’s just that if I see an opportunity to improve something, I want to speak about it, especially if it comes to track safety or car safety,” Russell explained. “In 2012 I was team-mates with Billy Monger [who lost his legs in a British F4 crash in 2017] and had a close relationship with him.
Seeing that crash live, and then watching Anthoine [Hubert]’s crash [at Spa 2019 in F2], I was watching that live. It was sickening to watch.”When you experience things like this with people who you know so well, and you believe you have ideas that can help improve the safety or prevent that from happening, then you naturally want to share it.”Again, Romain Grosjean’s crash [in Bahrain 2020], I saw that. He was in front of me and I passed him, and I still see the image in my head now. I looked in my mirror, and all I could see was flames. It took over my whole mirror.”That could have happened to anyone. It could have happened to the greatest driver in the world.
That’s just the danger we face. So, I think that’s probably why I wanted to be more involved than not.”Since first joining the GPDA aged 23, Russell says the current crop of drivers has become more unified as F1 has seen significant growth and change in the Drive to Survive era.”As a group we are probably closer and more united than ever,” he added.
“At least during my seven years of F1 It really feels like we’ve grown closer and share a similar view upon things and obviously, so much has changed.
“Everything that’s happened to the sport commercially, with the likes of Netflix and being exposed to so much more as athletes and individuals, so much has changed on the sporting and technical side, the changes in ’22 and the problems we all faced in ’22 with porpoising.
It’s given the drivers topics of conversation that we want to sort of tackle together.”
