Despite $12,000,000+ Promise, George Russell Snubs Mercedes to Favor Ex-Team

Who would’ve thought a young boy from King’s Lynn, who stood in line to get Lewis Hamilton’s autograph a handful of years ago, would now be the seven-time champion’s rival? George Russell certainly didn’t. Not only did he make it to F1—to Mercedes—but he also beat Hamilton in his first season with the team. Who saw that coming? As soon as the 2022 season ended, Mercedes knew it made the right choice. It knew Russell was its future. And now, the young Brit is here to stay (at Brackley) for another two seasons, fighting and challenging Hamilton.

At the Italian GP a few weeks ago, Mercedes announced that Russell would drive for the team until at least 2025. Although his $12 million contract does nothing to rival Hamilton’s $127 million, it was still a sign of a continuing partnership. A partnership of faith and trust, one that started in 2017. Even so, Russell couldn’t help but snub his team to pay tribute to the one who gave him his dream to drive in F1.

Williams will always hold a special place in Russell’s heart

George Russell isn’t called Mr. Saturday for nothing. He joined Williams in 2019 as a rookie and stayed there for three seasons. In those three years, and his 59 races for Williams, not once did he get unqualified by a teammate on merit. On Saturday, he delivered no matter what, making Q3 appearances in cars that had no business doing so. Since joining Mercedes, he has kept up his qualifying form. It’s just that he’s up against Hamilton, one of the best qualifiers on the grid. 

In two races, Russell will hit the 100-race mark. To celebrate that, Tom Clarkson—the Beyond The Grid Podcast host—asked him, “Best qualifying session so far? Is it Hungary last year, the pole?” A driver always remembers their first pole position. For Russell, that was at the 2022 Hungarian GP. In a qualifying session dominated by the Ferraris, he put in a stellar final lap—reminiscent of his Williams days—to snatch it away from them. But that didn’t quite make the mark as another stellar qualifying performance did.

Russell replied, “No, I think I’ve had some really satisfying ones, but I would say, for the pure joy it gave me afterward, the P2 with Willimas in Spa. I don’t think that can be rivaled for a long time. That was just so huge for the position we were in. We were the slowest car on the grid for the previous two-and-a-half, three seasons. That season, we were equal-ninth quickest, and that qualifying will always stay with me till the day I die. But the pole with Mercedes comes close.” In his 50th race weekend, he qualified P2 and converted that into a first podium (albeit because of the race that never happened in Spa).

Read More: With Lewis Hamilton as Teammate, George Russell Snubs Three-Year Relationship With Williams F1

The 25-year-old’s time at Williams gave him some of the best moments of his career so far. As a parting gift, he returned the favor to the team from Grove.

George Russell left a piece of him at Williams

Formula 1 is a cutthroat sport. To come across friendships that are sure to stand the test of time is rare. It’s rare, but it’s not impossible. One of them is the friendship between George Russell and Alex Albon. They went from acquaintances to best friends quickly in their karting days. Albon, the elder of the two, did something for Russell that kickstarted his path to F1. Per an Twitter post, “George Russell said he owes Alex Albon a lot because Alex told one of the best karting teams back then to sign George, which was vital for his career.”

In 2021, Albon was without a seat after Sergio Perez replaced him at Red Bull. Fulfilling the duties of a reserve driver for the team, Albon wanted nothing more than to get back into F1. Well, he can thank Russell for it. When Russell got the call-up from Mercedes, he put in a word for Albon at Williams to take his spot. “George then pushed in 2021 for Alex to get the Williams seat, so you could say he paid him back.” Considering how well Albon is doing at Williams, it worked well for all parties. Albon is an F1 driver again, Williams has a tremendous talent racing for it, and Russell got his dream to race for Mercedes.

Which is your stand-out George Russell qualifying performance?

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