When talking about tough love among F1 stars, Max Verstappen’s childhood often comes to mind. His father, Jos—a former F1 driver himself—was determined to make Max a world champion, and there are reports of him being excessively hard on his son. But there are some lesser-known accounts from George Russell’s side as well, whose father Steve was incredibly strict with him—though for a very different reason than Jos.
Both wanted their son to succeed, but unlike Jos, Steve didn’t come from a motorsports background. He worked day and night, building a fortune selling seeds, wheat, and pulses. Steve even had a factory of his own.
It costs hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to climb the ranks in motorsports, and failure at any level means there’s no way of earning the money lost. That’s something that ran through Steve’s head, which is why he would expect nothing but the absolute best from his son. “And then we go racing and he is quite stressed from his job. And if I was making silly mistakes, he’d be dead angry with me,” revealed George recently, quoted by The Daily Mail.
He admitted there were painful memories from his childhood, particularly of his parents—his dad and mum, Alison—arguing because of how hard his father was on him. George was expected to take pole and finish on the podium in every race he entered.
“I just accepted the way he dealt with me. I accepted that if I didn’t win, he wouldn’t be happy with me. And that the journey home would be a long one, and most likely end in tears,” the Briton added.
George was one of the most talented drivers on the junior circuit, and it was evident with Mercedes signing him up to their young driver program in 2017. But before that, Steve had to make huge sacrifices, which could have cost the Russell family monetarily, had things not worked out.
When George was just 12 years old, Steve sold his business to place all their funds on his son’s racing career. “For where we lived, my father was an exceptionally successful man. But in that industry success was making a profit,” he stated.
George on his relationship with his father during his childhood years.
far from a pleasant read, i’d say. pic.twitter.com/xzSfiPVx5s
— h ⋆ ⁶³ (@russellius) May 4, 2025
In 2019, George finally achieved what he had worked toward his entire life—signing with Williams in F1. Just a couple of years later, he made the leap to Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate. By then, his father was no longer the strict parent he once was and began giving him more freedom, having seen his son make it to the top.
Still, Russell never forgot the sacrifices his family made along the way. That’s why he made it a point to repay every penny his father had spent on his racing career. “I have paid everything back that he spent on me. I made it clear that as soon as I made money, I wanted to pay everything off. It was about £1.5 million ($2 million),” the 27-year-old said.
Today, their relationship is far stronger, and with George now competing at the pinnacle of motorsport, the future looks even brighter.
Regarded as a world championship-caliber talent, the 27-year-old is a three-time Grand Prix winner with 19 podiums to his name. He earns an estimated $15 million per season in his current contract with Mercedes. And rumors also suggest that he is in line for a new contract with them worth $30 million per year.
It was a difficult childhood for the King’s Lynn-born driver, but one that shaped him into the racer he is today. He has no regrets, as he emphasized in his interview.
