When a Tipsy George Russell Met Toto Wolff and Nearly Secured a Mercedes Deal

By now, it’s a well-known fact that Williams F1 driver George Russell has got the skills to be an F1 superstar. The former F2 winner’s talent hasn’t gone unnoticed, and he is on the books at Mercedes, as part of their junior driver program.

Despite the fact that he’s going to be racing for Williams in 2021, Russell is being bred to be a future Mercedes driver. The boss of the Silver Arrows, Toto Wolff, rates him very highly and is in contact with him on a weekly basis.

ALSO READ- George Russell Reveals He’s “In Contact With Mercedes Every Week”

This should give you an idea, as to how serious Mercedes are when it comes to including Russell as part of their future plan.

However, the young Briton has revealed that not every meeting with Toto Wolff has been a success. Some have been… let’s just say, a little weird.

The day a ‘bouncer’ deprived George Russell of a potential deal with Mercedes after meeting Toto Wolff

On the latest episode of ‘Beyond The Grid,’ Russell revealed an interesting story. One that included Wolff, himself, and a ‘bouncer’.

Russell said, “I met Toto at the Autosport awards at the end of 2015. I was there, just on a bit of a jolly, at the end of the season. I actually had a couple of drinks and I was feeling a little bit cocky, maybe.

“But I was there with a few of my other racing mates and I said, oh I’m just going to wander over and go have a chat with Toto.

“We were having a really good chat. (But) as it got to twelve o’clock, one of the bouncers came over to me and he said, hi George, I remember you from last year when you won the Autosport award but you’re too young to be here after twelve o’clock at night.

“I said, I’m talking to Toto Wolff here! This is my future potentially and you’re depriving me of this opportunity. He might’ve turned around and offered me a deal there and then.”

Despite not getting a deal then and there, he got a shot as a junior driver with Mercedes in 2017. Thereafter, in 2019, he joined Williams and made his debut at Melbourne.

However, since his debut, he has failed to score a single point in F1. Nonetheless, we wouldn’t be too quick to judge him for the same. But it’s a statistic he’ll be hoping to amend at his home Grand Prix this Sunday.

SOURCE- Beyond The Grid podcast