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Already synonymous with life in the fast lane, Miami is about to become even more frenetic this weekend as it hosts its namesake Grand Prix—the sixth stop of the 24-race 2025 Formula 1 season. Starting with practice and sprint qualifying today, then a sprint race and more qualifying on Saturday prior to Sunday’s main event, the 20 drivers—divided among 10 teams—will be piloting their hybrid missiles with a podium spot as the target.
Currently fourth in the driver standings, George Russell has been a consistent presence at the front of the pack during the first five races, finishing third in both Australia and China, and second in Bahrain. Now that his former teammate, seven-time champion Sir Lewis Hamilton, has joined the Ferrari squad, Russell is in pole position on the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team, which is currently ranked second behind McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship. Already a respected Formula 1 veteran and one of the directors of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, the 27-year-old racer made time to speak with Robb Report about his performance so far this year, working with his new rookie teammate, and what his expectations are for Sunday.
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You have three podium finishes in the first five races of the season. What has been the key to your consistency so far?
I’ve been in a really good place with my driving, to be honest. I feel I’ve really raised my game this year. I did a lot of work over the winter to understand where I need to find those last little bits of improvements, getting more out of the race car, getting more out of my team. Most importantly, I just feel I’m in a really good head space. There’s so much to be said about where you are psychologically, and I feel I’m in a great place, so that’s been amazing. The car has been performing well, but we’re still not in the position we wish to be. We’ve consistently been the second or third best team, but we’ve been able to capitalize on other people’s mistakes. That’s what’s given us the chance to be on the podium maybe once or twice more than we should have been.
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George Russell at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
This season you’re partnered with rookie Kimi Antonelli. How do you balance mentorship with the inherent competition common with teammates?
Everyone always says that, in Formula 1, your teammate is your number one competitor. In this instance, with Kimi, it’s a unique circumstance because he’s such a young kid. Mercedes has very much said to him that this is like a learning year. When it comes to the driving side, he doesn’t need any help. Where I’ve been able to give him some advice, and tips, is in everything that comes with Formula 1—the additional spotlight, the cameras, the travel, the energy management over the course of a year. Ultimately, he’s a fantastic driver, he’s got a lot of racing experience, and he’s got a great team around him, so he doesn’t really need my guidance. He’s very capable on his own two feet.
Does being with Kimi remind you of the start of your Formula1 career? If so, how?
I think it’s just the excitement you have for every single weekend—going to new races, new destinations, seeing the fans . . . having someone like him alongside me, it also reminds me of that excitement I went through my first year. It’s a reminder of how incredible this world is that we live in. I’ve done 120 races now, and I’ve never taken it for granted, but there is a point where this is my new norm—24 races a year, that is my life, that’s what I’ve done for seven years now. You forget that this is a dream.
In your opinion, how close is Mercedes to taking the Drivers’ Championship, Constructors Championship, or both this season.
Realistically, we know we’ve probably overachieved in these first five races, and we don’t really see many races where we could have achieved a greater result. Therefore, we know that McLaren is a bit out of reach for the time being. But as we saw last year, Red Bull won the first six races, or they should have, I think they had one DNF, and then that all switched around. [Lando] Norris should have won the Drivers’ Championship last year—a few things went against him, but he had a real shot of winning that, and they obviously won the Constructors’ Championship. So, you’ve got to keep on believing that every single weekend you can achieve greatness.
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George Russell in Miami this week
What do you find to be the pros and cons of the Miami circuit?
I really love racing in Miami, it’s an amazing event. The circuit is unique, it’s quite quirky. It’s got a tight section underneath the bridge, but then it’s got a fast, flowing first sector. In terms of our opportunities, I think it could be a challenging weekend for us. It’s quite hot here, and we’ve often struggled with the heat. We struggled in Jeddah, and this circuit is not too dissimilar, so time will tell. We’ve had surprises in the past, and we hope we can be pleasantly surprised again.
The new movie F1 is soon to be released. Do you expect it to be an accurate portrayal of what it’s like in the cockpit?
The guys have kindly shown us a number of the clips of what they’ve been doing to make it look as realistic as possible. From what I’ve seen, they’ve done an incredible job, far better than I could have imagined. And the storyline is great, it’s realistic as well. Of course, you’ve got shades of Hollywood in there, which is what the movie industry is all about, but they’ve done a great job.
You recently received your own Mercedes-AMG One, touted as a street-legal Formula 1 car. Does it live up to the hype?
I’ve been waiting two years for that, and it was really worth the wait. Driving it, you’re thinking that this should not be a road-legal car, but it is. It’s immensely loud and incredibly fast. It produces the same power we have in the F1 car. When you floor it, the thing flies, but there’s an elegance there as well.
What are your goals as a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association?
The role has been busier than first anticipated because of the amount of changes that have been happening with regards to rulings when it comes to the drivers—the financial penalties, code of conduct around driver language, etc. It almost feels like we’re in politics . . . and that was never really the intent of the association, but it’s something that all 20 drivers are unified upon. We’re all competitors, but we all want to improve the sport. We’re all trying to improve the racing. We want the fastest cars, we want the best circuits, and we’re really trying to collaborate with Formula 1 and the FIA [Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile]. Our relationship with Formula 1 is fantastic, but there’s no secret that there’s room to improve our relationship with the FIA. And we want to improve that. We want to bring some common sense to the sport. It’s been a unique 18 months, but hopefully we’re making a bit of progress now.
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