The McLaren driver said he would have to learn to curb his F1 instincts in the endurance races. "It's a beautiful race with better and better cars."Īlonso won the Six Hours of Spa, his first race in the World Endurance Championship in May, sharing the driving with Kazuki Nakajima of Japan and Buemi.Īlonso also shone at the Indy 500 in the United States last year before his Honda suffered engine failure. "It's really cool," said Buemi, formerly of F1 team Toro Rosso.
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The Spaniard is serious about his ambition of becoming only the second driver to complete motor-racing's triple crown of the Monaco GP, the Indy 500 and Le Mans, after Britain's Graham Hill.īut he has some stiff competition this weekend as nine former or current F1 drivers are on the Le Mans grid. it attracts people," he said.Īlonso, the 36-year-old F1 world champion in 20, is scheduled to race six legs of the World Endurance Championships with Toyota this season, including Le Mans. "Fernando has come and now you've got (Jenson) Button, (Juan Pablo) Montoya. When it's empty nobody goes in, but when it's full, people will queue outside," the Swiss driver said. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) © 2022 Getty ImagesīAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 10: George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes talks in the Drivers Press Conference during Day One of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on Main Bahrain, Bahrain.The fact Formula 1 star Fernando Alonso is racing the 24 Hours of Le Mans has focussed many people's attention on the endurance race, his Toyota teammate Sebastien Buemi said on Wednesday. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images) © 2022 Getty ImagesīAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 11: George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W13 on track during Day Two of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on Main Bahrain, Bahrain. Note: You must have 40,000 in funds to start your own team to get the option to view and test drive the bonus cars. (Photo by Dan Istitene - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images) © 2022 Formula One World Championship LimitedīAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 11: George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes walks in the Paddock during Day Two of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on Main Bahrain, Bahrain. Cheat mode: Enter one of the following codes to unlock the corresponding car in Grid World and Raceday. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images) © 2022 Getty ImagesīAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 12: George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W13 on track during Day Three of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on Main Bahrain, Bahrain. Having proved himself a hard worker and a tenacious talent, that prize arrived in the form of a chance to take on compatriot and seven-time champion Hamilton in identical machinery.Ī huge challenge, but as always, ‘Russell the Rocket’ will be going flat out.īAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 12: George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes prepares to drive in the garage during Day Three of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on Main Bahrain, Bahrain.
He kept his head down at Williams in 2021, scoring his first points and podium, all the while keeping his eye on the bigger prize.
Only a bungled pit stop and a heart-breaking late puncture prevented a near-certain maiden win for the up-and-coming super-sub. That star turn saw Russell miss out on pole by just 0.026s and then outrace Mercedes stalwart Valtteri Bottas. And it’s what got him the call-up to replace Lewis Hamilton for a one-off Mercedes appearance for Sakhir 2020 when the reigning champ was struck down by Covid-19. He banked more experience with practice sessions with Force India and tests for the Silver Arrows, before landing his Mercedes-powered Williams race drive.Ī refusal to cede ground to his rivals - and commitment to a tricky pass – underpins Russell’s winning mentality. Spotting his potential, world champions Mercedes swooped to sign him to their junior programme in 2017, when Russell already had a DTM deal on the table. The Briton stormed to the 2017 GP3 championship and delivered the 2018 Formula 2 crown under immense pressure.
That brilliant baseline speed served Russell well as he totted up titles on his way to Formula 1. George Russell has lived by it in his F1 career to date, out-qualifying seasoned team mate Robert Kubica at all 21 Grands Prix in his rookie season, putting Williams back on the podium in 2021, and landing a Mercedes race seat alongside Lewis Hamilton for 2022. He’s the driver with the motto: “If in doubt, go flat out”.
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