George Russell has shockingly revealed how an F1 outing resulted in him suffering from a chest infection and cold during a part of his winter break as well. He first fell sick during the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix and his illness carried on during the season finale in Abu Dhabi as well. Although the 2023 campaign ended in late November, his illness persisted until the end of December. As a result, the 26-year-old wanted to seek solitude. Russell had to stay at home and rest for a month before he recovered fully.
He recently made all these revelations while appearing on the most recent episode of the F1: Chequered Flag podcast. The Briton explained how he was confined to his home because of his sickness. He revealed that the cold and chest infection also jeopardized his Christmas plans.
Speaking about how his illness began, the British driver said, “I just had a really bad cough and chest infection that just stuck with me from [Las Vegas], we did all of the scans.” Following this, he added how he was at home, resting and encountering a cough whenever he started laughing.
In the end, the Mercedes driver had to go through blood scans and take further steps to recover. Despite falling ill, Russell managed to perform extremely well at the season finale in Abu Dhabi, which took place just a week after the Las Vegas GP.
George Russell performed well in Abu Dhabi despite his illness
Ferrari and Mercedes were neck-to-neck with each other for P2 in the Constructors’ Championship. Therefore, any point scored would have been an advantage for either team. Under such a situation, George Russell secured a podium for the Silver Arrows and helped them hold on to P2.
The 26-year-old finished the season-ending race in P3, giving Mercedes a vital 15 points. This led him to joke about how he should perhaps get ill more often. Although Russell was all smiles after the season finale in Abu Dhabi, he was not the only driver who complained about falling sick because of the doubleheader.
Max Verstappen explained how such a schedule not only does not help achieve F1’s goal of sustainability but also affects the health of the drivers. This doubleheader unsurprisingly did not do any favors to the environment because of the long distance that all teams would have travelled from Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi.
