George Russell is now in his fourth season with the Mercedes team, having learned a great deal from his former teammate Lewis Hamilton and current team boss Toto Wolff. The Brit reveals the specific lessons he’s gleaned and how they’re aiding him in achieving his ultimate goal: winning the Formula 1 World Championship.
After months of speculation about George Russell’s future at Mercedes, the definitive word came in October. The Silver Arrows confirmed that both Russell and his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli will continue to drive for the German racing team until 2026. The Brit has been driving for Mercedes since 2022, and spent his first seasons as the teammate of the now-departed Lewis Hamilton.
This was a learning experience for Russell, the Brit now reveals. “The most important thing I learned from Lewis is that winning comes first,” Russell writes for The Players’ Tribune. “Everything else comes after that.” The Mercedes driver’s focus is therefore on achieving the best result every weekend, with ultimately only one goal: to compete for the world title. “Everything else is just noise to me. I just want to perform. That’s my mentality: I want to win the F1 World Championship. And once I’ve done that, I know I want to win again, and again… That’s what I learned from Lewis and Toto.”
Advice from Wolff
The 27-year-old driver also reveals what he learned from his Austrian team boss. “The remarkable thing about Toto is how disarming he is,” Russell shares. “You don’t even realize how tense you are until something he says allows you to breathe a little easier.” For Russell, a conversation with Wolff early in his career as a Mercedes junior proved to be a turning point. “Toto literally told me: ‘George, you perform. I’ll handle the rest.’ That was quite simple, but I really took it to heart. Since then, I’ve applied that advice at every step in my career. And I still do.”
