He is by the pool at Ritz-Carlton, South Beach, Miami and a central flower sun down. Just beyond the adjacent cream sands the day before a shark spotted in the middle of the white traffic jams in the Atlantic.
Some observers have watched. Many have recorded the scene on their phones, what a surprise, while those of water rushed to dry land with an almost comic alarm, terrified stumbling as they waded safe.
Now everything is calm and the staff brings watermelon juice while George Russell sits down to speak. 27 years old, Norfolk’s original driver supported the bright tooth creatures of Formula 1 to emerge as the exceptional British player today.
His training constantly accomplished for Mercedes this season, and the end of the last one, underline his legitimate status as a successor as a team leader to nevertheless than Lewis Hamilton, the seven times world champion whom he recognizes as the goat.
Russell’s Road to Formula 1 was not a tour on a red carpet. He takes up the story of a hard task father, Steve, and his protective mother, Alison, their parental rows on her treatment, and the 1.5 million sterling pounds that they climbed and saved to finance his career – and tells for the first time how he has now reimbursed them every penny of their investment.
“It was difficult,” he said about his father’s hard love. “From the age of seven to 16, you are not mature enough to recognize what your parents do for you.
George Russell sits with Sport on South Beach in Miami before the race weekend
The Mercedes driver’s road to Formula 1 was not traversed on a red carpet
Russell had an impressive start for the 2025 season and is fourth in the pilot ranking
“My father worked every day from seven in the morning to nine in the evening to earn his money to take me to the race this weekend. As a child, you wonder: “Where’s Dad?” Oh, he is at work. “Why is it at work?”
“And then we’re going to run and he’s quite stressed from his work. And if I made silly mistakes, he would have died angry with me. During these eight years, there have been happy moments, but there are many sad memories of my parents who are fighting because of my father’s difficulty on me. My mom was trying to hold everything together.
“It was:” You don’t win. The wait must be on the post and win each race, at least always on the podium. Even the moments when I won was not the sun and the glory on the way back. It was: “But you could have done that better, to do that better.”
“He shaped me in the guy I am today. He would always like the glass to be full. He would see where I could have improved without ever seeing the positive points. I continue the mentality to look at where I could have done better, while taking care to see the positive points. Otherwise, it can be a very slippery slope.
“I can now see him with my brother: his children are starting to kart and he works his *** OFF to give them the chance. Life is not easy, with the stress of work and the rest. And I will always be grateful for what my father has done.
“I just accepted the way he treated me. I accepted that if I did not win, he would not be satisfied with me. And that the return trip would be long and would most likely end in tears.
Has young George received silent treatment?
“No, I would be B ****** Ed,” he recalls. “I now see it that children born with a silver spoon in their mouths do not have the same work ethics as those who had a massive discipline on them from a very young age.
His training always accomplished for Mercedes this season, and the end of the last one, underline his legitimate status as a successor as a team leader at nevertheless than Lewis Hamilton
“My father worked every day from seven in the morning to nine in the evening to earn his money to take me to the race this weekend.
Mercedes Russell star imagined with her father Steve by driving for Williams
Russell and his family arrive at the Monaco Grand Prix last year, where he finished fifth
“ If I could go back knowing what I know now, I would not change a single thing ”
“So, from my father’s point of view, would he like that for these six, seven, eight years old, that he had a closer relationship with his son?” Maybe. But these years have prepared me for life.
“If I could go back knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t change one thing.
How is Russell’s relationship with your father now, I wonder. Closer?
“Hmm, yes,” he says. “What was incredible with my father was that when I was signed by Mercedes (on their Young Driver program eight years ago), he opened the cage door and let me fly.
“ This has gone from great control, super emotional, b ******* every time I did not do well, to suddenly feel that he could transmit to me in the next chapter.
“Now he supports me from a distance each session. He takes care of grandchildren.
Steve Russell was involved in agriculture, a seed merchant and wheat – his factory a first call port after the harvest before distribution. “He sold the company to finance my races,” adds Russell. ‘In 2012.’ Russell was only 14 years old at the time.
“For where we lived, my father was an exceptionally prosperous man. But in this industry, success made a profit. Now we are in a world of unrealistic wealth with billionaires around us.
The 27 -year -old born in Norfolk has now made 133 Grand Prix departures, with three racing victories
The ardor of Mercedes Boss Toto Wolff for the world champion Max Verstappen seems to have decreased, just as the results of Russell make their own argument more and more
It is without contract this year but remains confident to re-Signal. Its results should make it a slam dunk
The new Mercedes AMG One from Russell, which has a top speed of 219 MPH and accelerates from 0 to 186 MPH in 15.6 seconds
“We could have lived a very happy life if he hadn’t done this. I reimbursed everything that he spent for me. I clearly indicated that as soon as I made money, I wanted to reimburse everything. It was about 1.5 million pounds sterling.
The dividend can be measured, among other achievements, in the car that Russell has just bought – the AMG One supercar. Limited edition of 275, the coupe was initially listed at 2.7 million dollars (2 million pounds sterling). It has a top speed of 219 MPH and accelerated from 0 to 186 MPH in 15.6 seconds.
This is the first car that Russsell ever bought, having started on the road in a white polo shirt bought by his parents – 60 hp, top speed of 100 mph with a next wind. And there was no reduction for the best Mercedes driver for his new car. He chose a navy blue that shines in the sun. His race number – 63 – is registered at his request.
He intends to keep the car forever (despite the reception of an offer worth double what he has given), to go with his company G Wagon and the Vintage 300 SL which he hopes to add to his wallet.
Three cars – it’s “everything” he wants in his garage at home in Monaco; No huge collection. All are Mercedes, note us, a symbol revealing his commitment to silver arrows.
It is without contract this year but remains confident to re-Signal. Its results should make it a slam dunk. He and the boss Toto Wolff speak optimistic about a successful conclusion, probably this month or the next one.
Used, Wolff’s ardor for the world champion Max Verstappen seems to have decreased, just as Russell’s results are increasingly making their own argument.
With Russell in Miami, as she is most of her shopping, is her Spanish girlfriend Carmen Montero Mundt, 26. She didn’t know he was a racing driver when he defended a friend who was to go out with her. It was in London in 2020. She was upstairs on the terrace while George and I talk. He pays him this tribute as his rock in a volatile world.
With Russell in Miami, as she is most of her shopping, is her Spanish girlfriend Carmen Montero Mundt, 26
Mercedes’ driver paid tribute to her girlfriend, calling her rock in a volatile world
She did not know that he was a racing driver when he stood for a friend who was to go out with his return to 2020 in London
“As for Carmen, I’m lucky to have it around. It is my emotional support in the world of instability in which I live.
“I left school at 13 and I have very few friends to be honest,” he says. “It can be a lonely life. You are in different hotels, different countries, different time zones, different climates.
“Mondays are days of emotional wood after a race. A slap in your face if you are at the top after a good result, and a slap in the face after a bad if you expect it. I play Padel to get rid of things, rather than sit inside to scroll through social media.
“As for Carmen, I’m lucky to have it around. It is my emotional support in the world of instability in which I live. I would not change anything in my life now or what happened before.
Now he has left for a race – a peaceful 7 km, next to the ocean where the Sharks roam.
