George Russell opens up about ‘sickening’ moments driving F1 safety crusade
George Russell has raced for Mercedes since the start of the 2022 season
Mercedes driver George Russell has revealed that the “sickening” accidents he has witnessed over the course of his career is behind his drive for greater safety standards in F1.
Russell, who was appointed a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association in 2021, has been vocal in his demands for enhanced safety in F1 over recent years.
George Russell on the ‘sickening’ accidents fuelling his F1 safety drive
The most recent example came at last month’s rain-affected Belgian Grand Prix at Spa – the scene of F2 driver Anthoine Hubert’s fatal accident in 2019 – where the Mercedes driver argued that it would have been “stupidity” to allow the race to begin in poor visibility despite complaints by the likes of Max Verstappen.
Russell, then competing for Williams, also witnessed Romain Grosjean’s fiery accident from close quarters at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix.
He also saw Billy Monger, a former team-mate in karting, have both legs amputated following a British F4 crash at Donington Park in 2017.
George Russell vs Andrea Kimi Antonelli: Mercedes head-to-head scores for F1 2025
👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates
👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates
Russell has denied that his crusade for improved safety standards is born of a desire to leave a legacy in F1, instead revealing that his memories of such “sickening” accidents is driving his passion for change.
He told Motorsport.com: “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.
“In 2012, I was team-mates with Billy Monger and had a close relationship with him.
“Seeing that crash live and then watching Anthoine’s crash, I was watching that live. It was sickening to watch.
“When you experience things like this with people who you know so well, and you believe you have ideas that can help improve the safety or prevent that from happening, then you naturally want to share it.
“Again, Romain Grosjean’s crash, I saw that.
“He was in front of me and I passed him and I still see the image in my head now.
“I looked in my mirror and all I could see was flames. It took over my whole mirror.
“That could have happened to anyone. It could have happened to the greatest driver in the world.
“That’s just the danger we face, so I think that’s probably why I wanted to be more involved than not.”
More on George Russell and Mercedes from PlanetF1.com
Russell has enjoyed arguably his strongest season to date in F1 2025, culminating in his fourth career victory at June’s Canadian Grand Prix.
As reported by PlanetF1.com last month, the 27-year-old is closing in on a new multi-year contract with Mercedes, committing him to the team until at least the end of 2027.
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