George Russell refuses to stay silent as Mercedes F1 star details 'sickening' moments
George Russell has opened up on the "sickening" memories which push him to do more than just race in Formula 1. As well as a driver for Mercedes, the Brit is also a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association – essentially the trade union for racers in the sport.
It was a role he took on when still very young and rather experienced in F1. He was in just his third season, aged 23 and driving for backmarkers Williams, when Russell became one of just four directors in the GPDA.
He joined chairman Alexander Wurz, a former F1 driver, legal expert Anastasia Fowle and four-time champion Sebastian Vettel. The German remained in the role for a time after his retirement in 2022 but was replaced earlier this year by Carlos Sainz.
Through his directorship, Russell has become one of the more outspoken drivers in the paddock. He is a particularly passionate advocate for increased safety, having witnessed several crashed first-hand which have either taken or change the lives of the drivers involved.
In F1, he was on track when Romain Grosjean smashed into the barrier and his Haas burst into flames at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, which caused damage to his hands and was the last race of his career in the sport.
A year earlier, at Spa, he had been present to witness the Formula 2 crash which killed Anthoine Hubert and saw Juan Manuel Correa break both his legs. The Ecuadorean racer was also placed into an induced coma several days after the crash after suffering respiratory problems and spent more than a year out of racing while he rehabilitated.
Russell, as a junior racer, had also been team-mates with Billy Monger, who lost both his legs as a teenager in a crash while competing in British F4 at Donington Park. It was moments like those which have inspired Russell to do all he can to help his fellow racers avoid having to go through it themselves.
"I am not chasing to leave any legacy, that has never been the intention," he told Motorsport.com. "It is just that, if I see an opportunity to improve something, I want to speak about it, especially if it comes to track safety or car safety.
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"In 2012 I was team-mates with Billy Monger and had a close relationship with him. Seeing that crash live, and then watching Anthoine's crash, I was watching that live. It was sickening to watch. When you experience things like this with people who you know so well, and you believe you have ideas that can help improve the safety or prevent that from happening, then you naturally want to share it.
"Romain Grosjean's crash, I saw that. He was in front of me and I passed him, and I still see the image in my head now. I looked in my mirror, and all I could see was flames. It took over my whole mirror. That could have happened to anyone. It could have happened to the greatest driver in the world. That is just the danger we face. So, I think that is probably why I wanted to be more involved than not."
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