The early signs of greatness that convinced Mercedes to pursue Russell

Much like a comic book superhero, almost every Formula 1 driver has an origin story worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster – given the horrifying level of commitment, talent, funds, results, luck, and sheer bloody-mindedness needed just to get a spot on the grid. Let alone get in the right car at the right time for a shot at victory.

So it is for Mercedes-bound, British young gun George Russell, who has been like a heat-seeking missile from the outset: flat-out, and expertly guided by the finest minds in the business. He’s also not shy about the mission he’s on.

“The clear goal is to become a Formula 1 world champion,” he said, in the days leading up to the announcement. “[To do that] I want to make sure I’m the best version of myself physically, as a racing driver, off-circuit as well, and how I work with the team.

“It’s so important, because all of these things have to be aligned to excel on the circuit. And I recognise you need that team, that you’re just another cog in this massive chain that makes the success, and you’ve got to work at it.”

Talk about a statement of intent, but politely matter-of-fact is Russell’s style all over – and unwaveringly so, according to Gwen Lagrue, Mercedes’ chilled mover and shaker in the junior series as its driver development advisor. Lagrue first met Russell in 2010, when the Brit was four years into his karting career, and had already secured the British MSA and Open titles.

“He was extremely mature, and his confidence definitely set him apart from all the others [he was racing] at that age,” says Lagrue.

Lagrue was impressed upon first meeting Russell in 2010 as a karter

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It’s a big call, especially when you consider those others included Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon, Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon.

"When you are 13 or 14 years old you are not always confident in yourself," Lagrue continues. "George was really [set] apart on that. And very clever, the way he was racing was definitely something different. He didn't always have the best machinery, but he was always clever enough to do something special and extract the most of what he had in his hands, which I think he has also done with the Williams cars the last two years."

Russell continued karting until the end of 2013, by which time he’d become a European karting champion. The victories continued in cars, where he lifted the 2014 BRDC F4 title and the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award – beating, among others, Albon, who was one of the finalists.

Mercedes, though, was yet to pounce. But, by 2016 - when Russell was winning races in the FIA European F3 Championship – an approach was made for him to join the Silver Arrows’ junior ranks.

"We developed quite quickly a good relationship, and always stayed in touch," says Lagrue. "I wanted to sign him already in 2013 or 2014, but it was not possible at that time. And when I moved to Mercedes, it was the first thing I did [in] making sure that George would join us."

Of course, Russell had already met Mercedes' head of motorsport, Toto Wolff, who well remembers their first meeting in 2013.

"He came to my office, all alone in a black suit and a black tie, it must have been his communion suit, because it was a bit tight, and a PowerPoint presentation," says Wolff, who gave the green light to Russell just a few years later.

Russell shone at 2016 Macau Grand Prix and formally joined Mercedes as a junior the following year

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Russell’s first challenge as a Mercedes junior was the 2017 GP3 Series, but it wasn’t a walk in the park - despite a standout win, one of four claimed that season, at Monza following an elbows-out three-way battle with ART Grand Prix team-mates Jack Aitken and the late Anthoine Hubert.

"I think this season was, and even the F2 one the year after, not that easy," says Lagrue. "Both were difficult seasons, which was good in a way because we had to face some difficult moments.

"I think where he improved the most was physically. He became a real athlete at this time, but also mentally he was a bit stronger. He managed to also be a little bit calmer facing the more difficult moments.

"He had an ear infection and we had to fly him with a medical plane to the track because he was not able to fly commercial because of the risk of having a more serious infection. At the first day of the [pre-event] test, he was still not feeling good. But, he still managed to win the GP3 championship" Gwen Lagrue

“We worked quite a lot on the level of stress. It was small details, but the combination of these made him – through GP3 and F2 - ready for F1.”

Arguably his drive of the season, though, wasn’t Monza - it came in the penultimate round at Jerez, despite no win to speak of. It wasn’t his overtake of title rival Jack Aitken in the Sunday sprint, nor the fact that fourth place and points for fastest lap put the crown – the first for Mercedes’ junior program – out of reach for his competitors.

“I don’t know if anyone knows this, but George was really sick the week of Jerez,” Lagrue says, over Zoom from his Californian hotel room. “He had an ear infection and we had to fly him with a medical plane to the track because he was not able to fly commercial because of the risk of having a more serious infection. At the first day of the [pre-event] test, he was still not feeling good. But, he still managed to win the GP3 championship, even though he was not [feeling] well at all.”

Russell also faced his demons in F2, despite claiming the crown with a 68-point advantage at the end of the season to runner-up Lando Norris. Monaco was the watershed moment – with Russell hell-bent on bouncing back after two DNFs, accidents in the Principality that dented his confidence.

Lagrue congratulates an under-the-weather Russell after clinching the 2017 title in Jerez

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"After that we had to do a reset," says Lagrue. "We had a triple-header, which was France, Austria and Silverstone. And we said, 'OK, we have three races in a row. If we are able to win them, and to be the leader after these three races, then we put ourselves in a very good position to fight for the title'.

"We approached these three races as a mini championship, and he did it really well. It was a key moment on the climb to the Formula 2 title."

But, while Russell’s personal team, including Mercedes’ Lagrue and physio Aleix Casanovas, kept Russell calm, focused, and performing, sometimes his ambition got the better of him. And it’s something that his then-GP3 boss at ART, now team principal at Alfa Romeo’s Formula 1 team, Frederic Vasseur remembers well.

“The approach of George, he’s a very, very pushy guy. Very demanding for the team, sometimes too much. And I’ve had tough discussions with George about this,” Vasseur told F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast in 2020.

“But, he’s also very demanding on himself. In the end, it’s the only way [for you] to survive and improve and he has the good approach. He did a fantastic season in Formula 2, when he was winning as a rookie.”

Of course, by this time, Russell had notched up several Formula 1 tests, specifically for Mercedes – starting from 2017, with a private session in Portimao, and official in-season test at the Hungaroring. He also racked up a further five days testing in 2018, shared across the Silver Arrows, Force India and Williams.

Russell also smashed the Hungaroring unofficial track record testing in the W09, and had already impressed in 2017 FP1 outings for Force India in Brazil and Abu Dhabi. But, you might be surprised to learn these barely register for Mercedes.

Mercedes' faith in Russell was rewarded when he impressed Force India in FP1 outings in 2017

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“It’s really just another step in his preparation, and matching our expectation to make sure that the kid is starting to show us that he could be someone we could put [in the car] in the future,” Lagrue says.

“From there I would say that the pressure changed, because it was on us to find an F1 seat for the 2019 season. He was doing the job in F2. Every time he had an opportunity, whatever we asked him: simulator, test, FP1s, he did a perfect job. So we started to think OK, now we need to find a solution for 2019, because he deserves it, and that’s our job to put him in F1 now.”

And Russell’s star has only continued to ascend during the past three seasons with Williams in F1. He worked hard to convince the team to sign him in the first instance, and even harder to overcome the limitations of cars that have not always been easy to extract speed from. Russell has evolved at every step too, honing his driving skills and becoming a team leader inside the cockpit.

“The great drivers can adapt quickly to the situation and conditions: this is the grip level I have, this is the set up I have, and right now I can’t change either no matter how vocal I am. So, how do I adapt my driving to extract the lap time?” says his Williams race engineer James Unwin.

"In my eyes, into this process, making George a future world champion, it’s good that he didn’t win [in Sakhir]" Gwen Lagrue

“He’s also very proactive with his use of electronic tools on the steering wheel. He makes regular adjustments to fine-tune balance. It requires some extra mental capacity to do this for 70 laps!”

Russell has mostly dominated his Williams team-mates, first Robert Kubica and then Nicholas Latifi. Recent qualifying performances for Williams in adverse weather conditions have been outstanding, and of course there was last year’s Sakhir Grand Prix, where Russell subbed at Mercedes while Lewis Hamilton recovered from coronavirus – and almost won…

“We knew he had the ability to deliver, as no doubt did Mercedes, so it was no great surprise,” says Unwin. “He was firmly in the media spotlight that weekend and given a great opportunity to showcase his talent, but perhaps the unknown was how well he would cope with the extra pressure associated with it. It would seem he dealt with it pretty well, and I don’t think he needed a PowerPoint presentation to sell himself after that weekend.”

Russell famously nearly won his first Grand Prix on his maiden appearance with Mercedes in the 2020 Sakhir GP, until the team's pitstop maladies and a slow puncture dropped him back

Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images

Although the outcome was brutal on Russell, it was another good lesson as far as Mercedes was concerned. No matter how tough it felt at the time.

“He did everything he could of course to win that race, but didn’t,” Lagrue says. “In my eyes, which might sound stupid or crazy for many people, but I think it’s good that he didn’t win it. He won so many things that weekend, of course. But he still didn’t win the race, unfortunately for him and the team. But, in my eyes, into this process, making George a future world champion, it’s good that he didn’t win it.”

Russell has instead arguably now won a greater prize: that seat alongside F1’s most successful driver ever, and the chance to prove himself at the front of the grid race in, race out. Russell has already seen what it takes to thrive in this environment, having dovetailed his F2 duties in 2018 with a Mercedes reserve driver role. And what it really takes is relentless hard work – to the Brit’s initial surprise.

“I think he realised the amount of work Lewis [Hamilton] and Valtteri [Bottas] do,” Lagrue explains. “Maybe he was thinking that driving a Mercedes car, you have an advantage and it probably makes your life easier than the others because the level of performance at that time was a little bit higher than the others.

“He learned so much that year. And I think he was like a sponge in the garage, receiving all the information, paying attention to every single detail and he was projecting himself. ‘OK, this will probably be my team in the future, so I need to know all the guys. I need to understand how they work. They all love Lewis and Valtteri, so I need that myself and to make sure the team will be behind me’.”

No doubt Russell will spend every waking moment at Mercedes’ Brackley base over the winter, putting those lessons into practice, getting ready to hit the ground running in 2022 and continue his irrepressible rise to the top of Formula 1.

George Russell, Williams

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