George Russell is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. He previously drove for Williams from 2019 to 2021.
He began karting at age 7 and won several championships, including the CIK-FIA European Karting Championship in 2012.
Russell then moved to open-wheel racing, winning the GP3 Series in 2017 and the Formula 2 Championship in 2018.
He joined Williams in 2019 and made his Formula One debut at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix. He stood in for Lewis Hamilton at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix and narrowly missed a maiden win due to strategic errors.
In 2022, Russell left Williams to join Mercedes, where he achieved his first F1 victory at the São Paulo Grand Prix.
As of the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix, Russell has one victory, two pole positions, seven fastest laps, and twelve podium finishes in his career.
Siblings
Russell has a sister named Cara and a brother named Benjy.
His brother Benjy was a karting champion, but he started racing at the age of 11, which was too late for him to pursue a professional motorsport career.
Instead, Russell became a mentor to his younger brother George, who began karting at the age of six.
Karting career
Russell began karting at the age of 7 and progressed through the cadet class by 2009, winning several championships including the MSA British Championship and the British Open Championship.
He then moved to the Rotax Mini Max category in 2010, winning the Super One British Championship and the Formula Kart Stars British series.
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In 2011, Russell graduated to the KF3 class, securing the SKUSA Supernationals title and the CIK-FIA European Championship.
He repeated this success in 2012, defending his CIK-FIA European Championship title. In his final year of karting in 2013, he finished 19th in the KF1 CIK-FIA World Championship.
Formula One career
Russell made his Formula One debut in 2019 with Williams, partnering Robert Kubica.
He outperformed his teammate throughout the season and finished 20th in the drivers’ championship with 0 points.
In 2020, Russell continued with Williams, now paired with Nicholas Latifi. He scored his first F1 points at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, finishing 9th.
He also made headlines when he stood in for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for the Sakhir Grand Prix, narrowly missing out on victory due to a pit stop error.
Russell joined Mercedes full-time in 2022, partnering Lewis Hamilton. He achieved his first F1 victory at the 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix and finished 4th in the championship, ahead of Hamilton.
In 2023, Russell continued his strong form, securing 2 pole positions and 7 podiums as of the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix.
Personal life
Russell is in a relationship with Carmen Montero Mundt. The couple met through a mutual friend in London in 2020 and have been together since then.
Carmen is a Spanish-born businesswoman who works in the finance sector.
She frequently visits the Formula One paddock to support George and often shares photos of their time together on her Instagram account.
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