George Russell (racing driver)
George William Russell (; born 15 February 1998) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. He previously raced for Williams from 2019 to 2021. After winning several karting championships including the CIK-FIA European Karting Championship in 2012, he repeated his success by becoming the Formula 2 champion and the 2017 GP3 Series champion, driving for ART in both campaigns to become one of only three drivers to win both championships in his respective rookie seasons. Following his Formula 2 championship win, Russell signed for Williams in , making his debut at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix. He stood in for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, but was denied of a Grand Prix victory due to strategical errors. In 2022, Russell departed Williams to race for the Mercedes team, having been a member of the Mercedes Junior Driver Programme since 2017. Russell achieved his first F1 victory at the 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix. As of the , Russell has achieved victory, pole position, fastest laps and podium finishes in his career. Russell agreed to drive for Mercedes on a multi-year deal, without giving any detailed information about the contract length.