George Russell shared a picture from his karting days on his Instagram to inspire the young racing prodigies. The pictures were from the Briton’s first win in the junior category. As Russell drowned in the nostalgia of the 12-year-old pictures, he even included a picture with Max Verstappen celebrating alongside him.
Both Russell and Verstappen were noticed early in their career by the Mercedes and Red Bull academies respectively. However, they still made loads of sacrifices and battled it out on track before getting the recognition. The post shared by Russell highlights these same struggles suggesting that the hard work was worth it.
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The caption read, “12 years ago, I was celebrating my win at the European Karting Championship in the Juniors, alongside Max, who took the win in Seniors at my local circuit PFI. This weekend, PFI is hosting the World Karting Championship and it reminded me of the hard work, the passion, and the dream to one day race at the top.”
Russell stated that it’s easy for the F1 drivers to get caught up in the day-to-day pressures of racing. However, looking back at the pictures reminded him of the hunger he had as a kid to make it to F1. He added, “It’s a reminder that dreams don’t happen overnight, but with hard work, there’s a chance that they can become reality.”
Russell concluded the caption by wishing the best to all those participating in the World Karting Championship at the PF International Kart Circuit. He asked the young drivers to give their best, and they might just end up in F1, just like the Mercedes driver.
Just a few minutes after Russell posted the picture, the Mercedes driver was spotted with the Red Bull drivers. The Briton was showing something to Perez and Verstappen on his phone and they all were smiling at it. Russell was possibly showing them the posted picture of Verstappen and him celebrating.
Russell’s racing journey and getting Toto Wolff’s attention
The Mercedes driver comes from a humble family. The Briton stated that his family wasn’t poor, but not wealthy like the families of many F1 drivers. Russell’s dad was most of the time away for his business duties.
The 26-year-old shared a story from his karting days on the Performance People podcast. He felt frustrated that no top teams were coming for him. However, this thinking changed when he met Wolff for the first time at the BRDC award ceremony.
Soon after the meeting, Russell sent an email to the Mercedes CEO to set up a meeting. Wolff replied within a few minutes. It was then that the fabled meeting happened between the two where Russell presented a PowerPoint presentation.
The Briton stated, “It made me feel that you have to take control of your own destiny. Before that moment, I felt that things should be coming towards me. I need to get out of my way to put myself on his radar.”
Russell was signed up for the Mercedes Young Drivers program following the email and his meeting with Wolff. He rose through the ranks of single-seater racing quickly and finally made his F1 debut in 2019 for Williams.
