Biography of F1 driver George Russell

Born in the Norfolk town of King Lynn, George Russell starting karting at the age of eight, progressing through to the cadet class by 2009, where he would then become MSA British champion and British Open champion.

In 2010, he added the Super One British Championship to his list of accolades, as well as the Formula Kart Starts British series. One year later, he graduated to the KF3 class, where he took the SKUSA Supernational title and become the CIK-FIA European champion - in both 2011 and 2012. During his final year of karting, he finished 19th at the KF1 CIK FIA World Championship.

For 2014, he made his single-seater debut, competing in the Formula Renualt 2.0 Alps Championship. Racing for the Koiraren GP team, he finished fourth in the standings, scoring one podium finish at the Red Bull Ring. He would then go onto contest two rounds of the Eurocup Formula 4 Championship, winning at the final round in Jerez as a guest entrant.

Later that year, Russell competed in the BDRC Formula 4 Championship with defending champions Lanan Racing. He won the series by just three points from teammate Arjun Maini, after taking Pole and the win at the final race of the season. One of the prizes for winning the prestigious junior series was a chance to test a GP3 car, which he went on to do at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. In December 2014, Russell became the youngest ever recipient of the McLaren Autosport BDRC Award, beating out Alexader Albon in the process.

Over the following three seasons, Russell would compete in the GP3 Series, and the Formula 3 European Championship. During his time in F3, the young Brit scored three race wins over the course of two seasons, ending his first campaign second in the rookie standings behind Charles Leclerc.

For 2017, GP3 was to be Russell's sole focus, having signed for the impressive ART team. He made a solid start to the season, getting his first win of the season at the second race weekend in Austria. He subsequently scored back-to-back pole positions at his home track of Silverstone, converting one of those into a race victory. Wins at Spa and Monza soon followed as Russell built up a sizable championship lead. He eventually sealed the series title at Jerez with a race weekend to spare.

F2 champion

In January 2018, Russell was confirmed as a driver ART Grand Prix for the upcoming Formula 2 championship. The following month, he would also be confirmed as Mercedes' reserve driver, sharing duties with Pascal Wehrlein. The King Lynn native got off to a very strong start, qualifying on the front row on debut in Bahrain, ending the race itself in fifth.

At the next race weekend in Baku, Russell got his maiden F2 win, storming through the field during the sprint race to take the victory from 12th on the grid. He followed this up with a second victory of the season in Barcelona, just edging out fellow rookie Nyck de Vries in the process.

After a poor showing in Monaco, he struck back in France with a maiden F2 pole, and a commanding lights-to-flag race win to match. This was his third win of the season, which put Russell back in control of the championship. Russell eventually sealed the title with another win during the feature race at Abu Dhabi, where he got the better of rival - and fellow Brit - Lando Norris.

Rookie F1 season with Williams

His stellar performances in the junior ranks earned Russell a Formula 1 seat for the 2019 season, where he would be paired alongside Robert Kubica at Williams. The move to Williams was facilitated in part by the team's partnership with engine provider Mercedes, as Russell was a member of the world champions' young driver academy.

His first year with Williams would prove to be immensely challenging, as the team was by far the slowest car on the grid in 2019. Nevertheless, Russell did show some good pace relative to his teammate, outperforming Kubica, who was a former race winner, by 21 races to zero in qualifying.

Russell's debut season came off the back of a handful of successful tests, as part of the driver's ongoing mentorship from the Mercedes F1 team. A 2017 test with the team at the Hungaroring proved successful, as indeed did a handful of practice session appearances with Force India.

While his pace in qualifying was impressive, the race results were anything but, as Russell ended his debut F1 season as the only driver without a win to his name. The best opportunity to score points came at the rain-affected German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, but the Brit missed out on 10th place finish - and therefore a point - after Kubica overtook him in the final laps.

Mercedes stand-in appearance

The 2020 season saw George Russell step up in terms of the consistency of his performances during Sunday's races. For his second season, Russell would be paired alongside F1 rookie and former F2 rival Nicholas Latifi - with the Canadian replacing Kubica at Williams.

Qualifying continued to be especially fruitful for the Brit, as blessed with a more competitive car underneath him, the young driver regularly started to appear in Q2. For the second race of the season, the Styrian Grand Prix in Austria, Russell qualified in P11 following a wet Saturday session. An early trip to the gravel ending any hopes of points during Sunday's race, but big qualifying performances were a regular occurrence for Russell during 2020.

Race results were a different matter entirely, however, as at the Belgian Grand Prix Russell was unfortunately taken out of the race by a stray wheel from Antonio Gionvinazzi's crashed Alfa Romeo. In the following Grand Prix, at Mugello, the Williams man kept his nose clean in what was a very attritional race. After running in the points for much of it, Russell slips backed to 11th following a poor red flag restart.

One of the biggest disappointments for him in 2020 came at Imola during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Once again, Russell was running in the points, primed score his first-ever F1 top 10 finish But a bizarre incident, in which Russell lost control of his Williams behind the safety car and subsequently tagged the wall, meaning that points cruelly evaded him once more.

His bad fortune wouldn't end there either, as a late substitute appears for World Champions Mercedes ended disastrously for Russell. When regular Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton tested positive for COVID-19 on the eve of the Sakhir Grand Prix, Russell was drafted in to replace the seven-time world champion. Paired alongside regular Mercedes driver, Valtteri Bottas, the former F2 champion shone, missing out on Pole Position to his new teammate by less than a tenth. In the race itself, Russell got the better of Bottas at the start of the Grand Prix, assume the lead after passing the Finn before the first corner.

However, Russell would suffer from ill fortune once again, this time due to a pitstop blunder. With 20 laps remaining, the Mercedes mechanics fitted Bottas' front tyres to Russell's car, leading to him having to re-pit on the next lap in order to correct the error. This was compounded Russell picking up a slow puncture just after, which forced him into yet another pit-stop. Russell came home in ninth place, finally registering his first world championship points - but well aware that a first F1 win was there for the taking.

He would then return to Williams for the final race of the 2020 F1 season at Abu Dhabi, with Hamilton reassuming his seat at Mercedes. Russell wore a special helmet for the event in celebration of Frank and Claire Williams, who had both left the team - and F1 entirely - after the 2020 Italian Grand Prix. Russell qualified in 18th, ahead of only teammate Nicholas Latifi, and Haas stand-in Pietro Fittipaldi. He ultimately finished the race in 15th position.

Waiting for his big chance

For the 2021 season, Russell was once again paired alongside Nicholas Latifi, in spite of persistent rumours linking him with a Mercedes seat. Most notably, at the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Russell collided with Valtteri Bottas, after driving on a wet patch of track and losing control of his car during an overtaking attempt. This caused both cars to retire, while it also prompted a red flag, as well as a fiery response from the British driver.

He accused Bottas of "trying to kill him" in the immediate aftermath but later retracted that comment, offering a public apology to his teams and fans via an Instagram post. In March 2021, Russell was appointed as a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, replacing IndyCar-bound Romain Grosjean for the new season.