Russell admits role with Mercedes in 2017 is "secondary"

  • Published on 21 Jul 2017 17:01
  • comments 1
  • By: Fergal Walsh

George Russell says that his position with Mercedes this year is secondary as the Brit focuses on winning the GP3 championship. Russell joined Mercedes at the start of the year as a junior driver, as well as ART in the GP3 championship.

Currently, the 19-year-old holds the top position in the standings, with a 35-point gap to teammate Antoine Hubert. Later this year, Russell will make his test debut in Hungary at the second in-season test, driving the Mercedes W08.

When asked by GPUpdate.net how he balances working with Mercedes and competing in GP3, he replied: "I've said really throughout the year, those two things are really separate for me. My main goal is the GP3 title, and everything with Mercedes is almost secondary.

"At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how well I do in their simulator or how well I'm developing their car, if I'm not getting results in GP3, they can't move me further up the ladder. Like I say, GP3 and ART is number one, and Mercedes is secondary."

Last weekend at Silverstone, Russell won his second race of the season and was delighted to see the support he received: "I was quite surprised, I saw Toto [Wolff] and Niki Lauda, down at the bottom of the podium," he said.

"I then went to see the engineers, who I have quite a good relationship with. Everyone was watching the race from start to finish, and before the race, they just give me a bit of advice with how the circuit is faring or what they've learnt."

 

Fergal Walsh

Replies (1)

Login to reply
  • Wolfgang

    Posts: 313

    he´s going to have a hard time against Verstappen and LeClerc in F1 later on.. I´m sure they´re going to compete against each other in the (far) future with Verstappen having a huge advantage concerning his experience in F1..

    • + 0
    • Jul 24 2017 - 10:01

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2024

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
29 - Mar 2
Bahrain
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia
22 - Mar 24
Australia
5 - Apr 7
Japan
19 - Apr 21
China
3 - May 5
United States of America
17 - May 19
Italy
24 - May 26
Monaco
7 - Jun 9
Canada
21 - Jun 23
Spain
28 - Jun 30
Austria
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom
19 - Jul 21
Hungary
26 - Jul 28
Belgium
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands
30 - Sep 1
Italy
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan
20 - Sep 22
Singapore
18 - Oct 20
United States of America
25 - Oct 27
Mexico
1 - Nov 3
Brazil
22 - Nov 24
United States of America
29 - Dec 1
Qatar
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates
-
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
29 - Mar 2
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24
Australia Albert Park
5 - Apr 7
19 - Apr 21
3 - May 5
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19
24 - May 26
Monaco Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9
21 - Jun 23
28 - Jun 30
Austria Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom Silverstone
19 - Jul 21
Hungary Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1
Italy Monza
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22
18 - Oct 20
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27
1 - Nov 3
Brazil Interlagos
22 - Nov 24
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
-
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team -
  • Points -
  • Podiums -
  • Grand Prix -
  • Country GB
  • Date of b. Dec 6 1982 (42)
  • Place of b. Oban, GB
  • Weight 53 kg
  • Length 1.68 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar