Credit: F1
On February 15, 1999, F1 racer George Russell was born to Steve and Alison in Norfolk, England. At the age of seven, he took up karting, following the footsteps of his brother Beny, who won the 2007 Super 1 National Kart Championship. Back in 2006, Russell started his karting and made significant progress in 2009, winning the titles of MSA British champion and British Open champion. The next year, he shifted to the Rotax Mini Max category and became Super One British champion, Formula Kart Stars British champion. Along with both title, he also pulled off the Kartmasters British Grand Prix.
In 2015, Russell’s BRDC award victory took him to European Formula Three, where he stayed for two years until 2017. The same year, he finished in the sixth spot with one win and three podiums. He also concluded his campaign in second place at the 2015 Masters of Formula 3 exhibition race, following Italy’s Antonio Giovinazzi.
With Mercedes’ assistance, Russell secured a drive with the Art Grand Prix for the 2017 edition. As a rookie, he tasted the title victory, which helped Art sweep the top four spots in the tally. Russell achieved four wins and seven podiums and sealed the title with two races to go.
The Englishman’s major achievements
In October 2015, Russell got the opportunity to drive the Formula One car of McLaren for the first time as a prize for winning the 2014 Autosport BRDC Award. After becoming a full-time F1 driver with Williams in 2019, he had three exceptional years with the team before joining Mercedes in 2022. Following his maiden F1 GP win in Brazil nearly three years ago, Russell looked extraordinary in 2024 with his domination at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, where he qualified on pole and led 49 off 50 laps to register his third win.
He again qualified on pole in Qatar where Max Verstappen faced a penalty for driving slowly ahead of Russell, who was busy on an out-lap. Russell finished sixth in the Drivers’ Championship, scoring 22 points more than Lewis Hamilton.
