The F1 offseason is utilized by many drivers for recharging their batteries and getting away from the ‘F1 Lifestyle‘ for a bit. However, Mercedes driver, George Russell elected to use his downtime to bond with his boss, Toto Wolff, and his family along with his girlfriend, Carmen Mundt. A video uploaded by a proprietor of a karting track, in France, documented a day of friendly competition between Wolff and Russell.
The Instagram profile ‘khatircoachingkarting‘ posted a video of Russell, his girlfriend, Mundt, and Toto and Susie Wolff partaking in a few laps, of go-karting. The video was captioned,
“The magic of our passion (job), a pleasant morning of karting with @totowolff_pack, @susie_wolff, @georgerussell63 @carmenmmundt with our friend Yannick @kipc13 at @brignoleskartingloisir.”
It was a fun moment for both Wolff and Russell before they head back to Brackley. The 2024 season is just a few weeks away. That is where the fun ends, and business begins as usual for Russell and Wolff, who go way back.
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Russell joined the Mercedes junior driver program back in 2017. Since then, the Briton has been a key understudy of Wolff, who has charted the 25-year-old’s single-seater career. After making his F1 debut for Mercedes’ customer team, Williams in 2019, he finally made the big step up and joined the Silver Arrows in 2022 as Valtteri Bottas’ replacement.
Despite a rocky start to his Mercedes career, as the eight-time world champions dropped the ball with the latest regulations, the Kings-Lynn native grabbed his maiden F1 win at the 2022 Sao Paolo GP. 2023 proved to be a challenging year for him as he finished winless and with only 2 podiums in an aerodynamically compromised W14.
Going into his 3rd year with the Brackley based team, he will be eager to set the record straight and assert himself as the team leader alongside his seven-time world champion teammate, Lewis Hamilton.
George Russell sends a warning to Lewis Hamilton
Throughout his F11 career, George Russell has categorically stated that he does not want to play second-fiddle to anyone. While Mercedes might not be competitive at this very moment, Russell is keen to get the gang on his side when the team is really back to fighting for wins and titles.
That being said, Russell is acutely aware that he is trying to build his castle on Hamilton’s territory. Hamilton is the established force within the Mercedes camp, and is gunning for that elusive 8th world title. But Russell has warned the 39-year-old to expect stiff competition as the two battle it out for supremacy in 2024.
A race win for George Russell in 2022, but a better season for Lewis Hamilton in 2023.
Which driver performs the most in 2024? #Russell #Hamilton #Mercedes #F1 #Formula1 pic.twitter.com/lKrx0aHTyI
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) December 13, 2023
Russell told Motor Sport Magazine (as quoted by PlanetF1.com), on the eve of the 2024 season, “I’m purposely trying to push myself further and beyond, and I’m not satisfied with just being on par with my team-mate in qualifying or whatever it may be. Or [2022 when] we were very even across the whole season. I want to be ahead. And that’s what I’m pushing myself for.”
If Mercedes do get the W15 right, the Silver Arrows might as well gear up to face a rivalry between the teammates that may mirror the infamous Hamilton-Rosberg era of the turbo-hybrid days.
