George Russell is known for innocently becoming the meme in the F1 community. Whether it’s his endless shirtless selfies or crying after getting his first points, Russell often finds himself trending on Twitter. More recently, it was his rather hilarious pose for the opening titles for the 2023 season.
As the clip is repeated every race weekend, it’s hard to ignore Russell’s widespread arms and glaring blue eyes. Soon, the Photoshop wizards of Twitter had Rusell doing all sorts of things. Replacing the front wing of the car, holding apart the Petronas Towers, and even flipping around to make the Silver Arrows of the Mercedes logo- the jokes were endless. Even the Mercedes marketing team chimed in, making full use of the readily available meme template.
On a recent podcast appearance, the man himself explains what happened in the moment, and how he’s become one of the most viral moments of the 2023 season.
George Russell breaks down his intro pose
Talking to the hosts of the Fast and Curious podcast, a fan question forced Russell to give the people what they wanted- an explanation. Confessing that it wasn’t a planned move, he painted a picture of the situation. “We go to the studio, doing all sorts of poses. Look down, look up, cross your arms, hands on hips; look away from the camera then look into the camera- doing all sorts of things.”
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 21, 2023
Thus, the Mercedes model was exhausted. As the videographer took 30 seconds to reset, Russell made his accidental move to fame. “I was pretty tired, so I actually just put my hands on either side of the LED boards, to sort of rest and just chill out. Just hung my head down… it’s been a long day.”
This “pose” impressed the videographer. So, he was instructed to do just that, and within two-three shots, the clip was ready.
Clearly, this short clip garnered a lot of attention online, and the 25-year-old admits to having mixed feelings about it. Looking back at the process of it all, Russell makes a rather profound observation.
What are your favourite moments, Team? 😁 pic.twitter.com/RgSyExyWyo
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 16, 2023
“It’s kind of also a bit of a lesson that sometimes in life, the best things come from not even trying. Sometimes the more you chase something, the harder it is to achieve. So, just take a breather.”
A poignant quote for his season so far as well. Surely the month-long break has given Russell his much-needed breather. Now, we just wait and watch to see if he and his team come up with something as nearly a banger as his moment in the spotlight.
