Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff explained in a recent interview about how he spent a lot of time with George Russell over the winter break. The Austrian revealed that Russell not only skied with him but also spent a day to train his son, Jack Wolff, in karting. Toto was all praises for Russell as he explained how the 26-year-old is one of the best coaches any six-year-old can have.
While appearing on the most recent episode of the F1: Chequered Flag podcast, Toto Wolff said, “We went karting together. George is the best driving instructor that a six-year-old can have, so that was good fun“. The interviewer then asked Toto if he was referring to his son, Jack, to which the 52-year-old replied, “That is my son“.
The interviewer then also asked Toto if Russell was teaching Jack to become a future Mercedes F1 driver. In reply, the Mercedes team principal said that it is premature to think that his son would become an F1 driver since he is just six at the moment. After Toto shared his thoughts about his karting experience with Russell, so did the 26-year-old.
George Russell reflects on his “brutal” karting experience
Although George Russell has spent a few years in F1 now, he too revealed that he found it “brutal” to return to karting. When asked to share his experience, the Briton revealed that he had a lot of fun teaching Jack Wolff.
While he enjoyed teaching, Russell revealed that he cannot say the same about driving the go-kart himself. He revealed, “It is absolutely brutal. My body was so bruised and battered afterwards“. Russell then added that Jack drove really well as he was flying down the straights and had no fear at all.
Although Jack has just begun his journey in motorsports, he unsurprisingly attracts a lot of attention, being the son of Toto Wolff. Even last year, Jack grabbed headlines after he used Lewis Hamilton’s famous #44 for a karting event.
Since Hamilton is arguably one of the greatest drivers of all time, #44 has become synonymous with him. However, with Jack now using the same race number, it suggests that Toto perhaps wants his son to follow in the footsteps of the seven-time world champion. Now, only time will tell about how far Jack makes it in motorsports.
