© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
George Russell says his experience as Mercedes’ reserve driver taught him how to be “a more complete person and driver”.
Russell, a part of Mercedes’ junior driver programme, served as the team’s reserve driver in 2017. The Briton admits being around the championship winning team helped him become a more complete Formula 1 driver. This allowed him to impress immediately upon his Mercedes race debut at the Sakhir Grand Prix.
“There’s a few sides to that,” explained the young Briton in an interview with Autocar.
“There’s me inherently; the days I spent with Mercedes as their reserve driver meant I learned there was a lot more to being a complete F1 driver than just jumping in the car and driving as fast as you can.
“That opportunity, being surrounded by them, made me recognise how I needed to improve from a technical and marketing perspective, just to try to be a more complete person and driver.
“F1 is like no other. It’s ruthless, and you have to excel in all areas or you’re going to be chewed up and spat out.
“I recognised that early, and I’ve been working ever since to become better and better.”
The young Briton’s first two years in Formula 1 weren’t easy, as he was forced to mostly struggle at the back of the grid due to Williams’ uncompetitive car. However, he also made a rare mistake when he crashed behind a safety car at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
“If you’re the one to make the mistake, it’s always important to hold your hands up because it makes others realise that if they make a mistake, they can hold their hand up and learn from it.
“That was important, not just for myself but also for the team, to say: ‘I messed this up, I’m incredibly sorry and I’m doing my utmost to not let it happen again. I’ll come back stronger and deliver the goods.’”
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Certainly having a powerful manufacturer like Mercedes putting its trust in you puts a certain amount of pressure on a young driver. However, Russell says he hasn’t felt pressure since he experienced a “mentality” shift in 2017.
“Arguably, when I was a bit younger, maybe [in] my early races in GP3 [I felt some pressure].
“Probably during 2017, there was a point where my mentality shifted. I told myself: ‘I’m here for a reason and they haven’t picked me up for the sake of it.’
“Mercedes don’t sign 15-20 young drivers every year; at the time, I was one of three. I knew I had to go out there and do my job to the best of my ability.
“I’ve always had the most amount of pressure from myself. I know what I want to achieve, and I only saw being affiliated with Mercedes as a positive.
“Maybe I enjoyed that extra pressure that I knew all eyes were on me, even back then.”
The young Briton definitely overcame any feelings of pressure when he made his Mercedes race debut at the Sakhir Grand Prix. Despite being a last minute replacement for Lewis Hamilton, he impressed everybody with his amazing performance.
“You’ve got to treat every opportunity as if it’s your last because you don’t know what’s around the corner.
“I don’t think anybody could have predicted what happened in Sakhir…”
Still, Russell keeps a level head when it comes to his performance.
“I’m honest with myself, I know when there’s a bit more time in there. When I watch a lap of Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen and I see what they’re achieving, I know if I’ve managed to do similar or if I’m a bit away from them.
“I’m my biggest critic,” concluded the Briton.
