George Russell is an advocate for mental health and sincerely believes in the benefits of therapy. The Mercedes driver claims it’s important to drive the stigma away from reaching out for professional help when needed.
F1 is already a high-stakes sport where the competition is high. It’s raised tenfold when you drive for an 8-time constructors championship winner and team up with 7x champion Lewis Hamilton.
Russell managed to beat his experienced teammate in his first season with Mercedes in 2022. However, the Briton has often seemed assistance from a psychologist to help him clear his mind and improve his racecraft.
Russell’s approach toward mental clarity and race readiness is a testament to his will to win races and titles. However, the 25-year-old’s method closely matches that of one of Hamilton’s renowned rivals.
George Russell utilizing help from sports psychologists like Nico Rosberg did
Nico Rosberg was one of Lewis Hamilton’s biggest rivals in the turbo hybrid era. Like Russell, Rosberg too was Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes. Despite being in the team for a longer duration compared to the 7x champion, Rosberg’s performances were dwarfed by his teammate.
This frustrated the German who was pulling his hair out in order to beat Hamilton for the title. In 2016, the German sought the expertise of a sports psychologist and managed to snatch the title away from the Briton.
Just like the 2016 champion, Russell has admitted to taking professional help for the past couple of years. The former Williams driver certainly believes having a psychologist does improve one’s performance on the track.
Russell claimed, “I feel fortunate that I’ve found myself in this position to work with such a professional because it definitely helps me in my personal life.”
Russell is aware of Rosberg’s doing the same. However, the Briton claims that the need to seek professional help aids one to overcome the challenges in their life and in their head.
He added, “It doesn’t matter how rosy it looks on the outside, there’s always something in all of us that is challenging. Finding ways and having this sort of mental maintenance, almost keeping things ticking over, rather than seeking out help once there’s a problem, is really important.”
Russell talks about Hamilton’s influence on him
Russell remains a Hamilton fan at heart. The 25-year-old has credited the 7x champion to be one of his childhood superstars. Now, Russell drives along with him and even gets to compete with the F1 GOAT.
The driver is 38 years old but still manages to give a tough fight to all his competitors. And with 17 years of experience in F1, he has been of great help to Russell and the entire Mercedes team, especially when the times are tough.
Russell spoke about his teammate, “I think he’s a very good people person. He’s very good at getting the most out of the people around him and motivating the team. He’s very resilient, he’s always pushing himself further.”
Russell claims Hamilton is a very interesting person. Hamilton has a lot of hobbies like surfing, and skydiving which allow him to take his mind away from the sport. The youngster claims that this allows the 103 GP winner to be in a better head space for when he comes back in the next race weekend.
Russell added, “We’re obviously at very different stages of our careers, but I’m definitely taking inspiration from how he conducts himself, how he approaches his racing, and how he approaches his life. He’s very impressive.”
Russell managed to outperform Hamilton in 2022. The Briton also secured Mercedes’ only race win of the season. He has also adapted better to the W14 which the 7x champion has struggled with.
