George Russell Set to Replace Romain Grosjean as GPDA Director

Williams Racing driver, George Russell, is one of the youngest drivers on the present F1 grid and has already fallen into defending champions Mercedes’ radar. Hence, considering the recent spurt of success, one might wonder, will it get any better than this for Russell?

Turns out, it will. Romain Grosjean is the acting director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA). However, his retirement from the sport last season opened the doors to a new driver taking up that role.

And amid speculations, Grosjean himself apparently revealed his decision during a live stream. And according to DriveTube, it is none other than Russell.

The young Briton will be replacing the French lad as GPDA’s director. However, Grosjean will remain in the position until the end of the 2021 season to assist with the transition. And following the replacement, the Frenchman will remain an honorary member of the association.

Eventually, from the start of 2022, Russell will lead the driver-based association. Alongside the Briton, Sebastian Vettel will continue to play the supporting role as a director.

Furthermore, Alexander Wurz will also remain the chairman of the association, at least until the end of the 2022 F1 season.

What is GPDA? Why is George Russell preferred?

The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association is nothing but a union exclusively constructed for the Formula 1 drivers. The association was officially inaugurated by former F1 driver, Sir Stirling Moss. The Briton was the first chairman to lead the union back in 1961.

Since then, there have been some big names representing the association including the likes of Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard, Jackie Stewart, Rubens Barrichello, and others.

And the name, George Russell, is all set to join this list of big names. But one might wonder, why was he chosen amidst other experienced drivers? Well, there could be some plausible reasons behind it. Firstly, it is Russell’s enthusiastic personality.

The Briton has by far been one of the most likable F1 drivers on the grid and has managed to build up a strong relationship with every one of his racing colleagues. Furthermore, he has been well respected amongst the media and the whole of F1 fandom as well for his good-natured personality.

Hence, Grosjean might have felt that such a positivity-influenced driver would be highly deserving to rise as his successor in the association.