George Russell has opened up about his role in the GPDA, his passion for F1 safety, and his views on FIA cooperation. The Mercedes driver, seen as Lewis Hamilton’s heir, has emerged as one of the sport’s most outspoken voices, especially on track and car safety issues.
Russell’s GPDA Journey and Push for Safety
Russell joined the GPDA in 2021 while racing for Williams, replacing Romain Grosjean. After Sebastian Vettel’s retirement, he was the only active driver until Carlos Sainz joined earlier this year. Together with chairman Alexander Wurz and legal representative Anastasia Fowle, they continue the GPDA’s long-running push for safety, including the now-mandatory halo device.
Speaking to Motorsport.com, Russell explained why safety matters so much to him. “I’m not chasing to leave any legacy. That’s never been the intention. It’s 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,” Russell said.
He recalled traumatic incidents that shaped his commitment to safety. “In 2012 I was team-mates with Billy Monger [who lost his legs in a British F4 crash in 2017]… Seeing that crash live, and then watching Anthoine [Hubert]’s crash [at Spa 2019 in F2], I was watching that live. It was sickening to watch.
“Again, Romain Grosjean’s crash [in Bahrain 2020]… I looked in my mirror, and all I could see was flames. It took over my whole mirror… That could have happened to anyone.”
Unified Drivers and FIA Cooperation
Russell says drivers are now more united. “As a group we are probably closer and more united than ever… Everything that’s happened to the sport commercially, with the likes of Netflix… the changes in ’22 and the problems we all faced in ’22 with porpoising… It’s given the drivers topics of conversation that we want to sort of tackle together.”
On the FIA relationship, Russell stressed cooperation. “We don’t want to fight against the FIA. We don’t want to fight against F1, you want to work together with them, to get the most for them as a sport… and then the most for us as drivers. You want to rise together and fall together.”
Russell praised current FIA officials. “It’s been very refreshing having Rui Marques on board as race director. I feel he and [FIA sporting director] Tim Malyon have been exceptionally receptive. They listen and they react, and I think collectively, we’re all substantially happier now with where we are.”
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