George Russell and Lando Norris take Highway Code quiz
George Russell and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff have a solid professional relationship as of now, but that wasn’t always the case. In fact, a meeting between the pair back in 2015 saw Russell brutally reject Wolff’s proposal via email.
By that point, Russell was an exciting prospect in European F3. Wolff was among the team bosses who tried to lure him in, and the pair even met face-to-face, with the Austrian giving the youngster pointers on how best to proceed in his motorsport career.
Despite being offered a similar financial package to the deal he ended up signing, Russell decided to go in a different direction and let Wolff down by sending an email.
“I was already having conversations with Toto and Mercedes prior to joining Carlin and Volkswagen,” the Silver Arrows star told Motorsport Magazine.
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive F1 news.
Don’t miss… Max Verstappen ‘does not like’ Perez claim as Red Bull star weighs up early exit
“I actually had a deal on the table to have almost the same backing from Mercedes as I had from Volkswagen. But because there wasn’t an opportunity open at PREMA, the next team I would have had to join would be a German team called Mucke Motorsport, who I felt for my first season F3 wouldn’t be as well suited to me as a British team in Carlin.
“So after my meeting with Toto at the start of 2015, I sent him an email just to say, ‘I really appreciate the meeting and thanks for all of your advice.
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
“Just to let you know, I’ll actually be joining Carlin and Volkswagen as opposed to Mücke Motorsport and Mercedes because I believe it’s better for my career.’ And I had the opinion that if I went out and did a good job, Mercedes would still be interested. So he replied back, ‘I think you’re making a wrong decision but let’s stay in touch and let’s see where we go from there.’”
Russell and Wolff only had to wait two years before they were reunited, as the youngster joined Mercedes’ junior driver programme in 2017.
Wolff then played an important part in Russell stepping up to F1 with Williams in 2019, and the Mercedes boss naturally had the final say in calling him up to partner Lewis Hamilton at the Silver Arrows from the start of last season.
Russell pipped the seven-time world champion in last year’s points standings, securing the team’s only Grand Prix victory in 2022. This season, Hamilton has shown greater consistency and opened up a 55-point lead over the 25-year-old with eight races to go.
Source: Read Full Article
