George Russell is ready for a winter reset to recover from a season of missed opportunities and unfulfilled potential, but the Briton will be keeping his off-season activities on the safe side, aligned with his core priorities.
With just two podiums to his credit, Russell’s 2023 campaign clearly fell short of expectations.
The Briton’s lack of success can be attributed to a combination of factors, including the limitations of Mercedes’ W14 car and occasional misfortune on race day.
But by his own admittance, Russell also came up short due to his own mistakes when pushing to keep himself in contention with his teammate, one Lewis Hamilton.
However, while challenging, the season also offered its fair share of valuable learnings and lessons that he’ll carry forward to help him build on his progress.
“No doubt it’s been probably the toughest season I’ve ever had psychologically,” Russell said, quoted by Motorsport Magazine. “Bouncing back from missed opportunities, missed results, mistakes. I think this is when you push yourself.
“I’m purposely trying to push myself further and beyond, and I’m not satisfied with just being on par with my team-mate in qualifying or whatever it may be. Or last year [when] we were very even across the whole season. I want to be ahead. And that’s what I’m pushing myself for.
“And perhaps that’s been a small reason for contributing to a couple more mistakes. But, I think you look back on seasons like this and you grow. I’m thankful it’s not a season where we’re fighting for a championship victory. And I’m confident next season will be very different. Because I know the sort of driver who I am.
“I know one year like this is not going to take away from all of my other consistent seasons, championship-winning seasons. I know it won’t take a lot to find myself in that good rhythm once again.”
©Mercedes
An opportunity to step away from the pressures of racing and declutter his mind with any activities he sees fit will likely go a long way towards rejuvenating Russell’s body and soul.
But the 25-year-old knows he is bound by certain restrictions when it comes to indulging in the pleasures of the F1’s off-season.
“I still need to ask Toto’s permission, but I really want to ski,” he said. “I’m not too sure if I’m going to be given that permission or not.
“But I’ve always said I’m always sensible when it comes to sport outside of racing, because I get my adrenaline rush from racing.
“So I don’t need to go down a ski slope flat out or even when I’m training on my bike, I put a 55km/h limit on it, because I’d be in Lanzarote, I’d be head down going down a massive hill going 85km/h and I just thought, ‘this is just stupid’.
“The adrenaline rush was massive, but I don’t need that, because I get it 25 weekends a year. And the risk was too great.
“So I think I know my boundaries. There’s always going to be danger in everything. I could wrap myself in bubble wrap but fall down the stairs and break a leg. I just want to do something that you’ve got to put fun focus into that activity.”
Russell admits that the passing years have instilled a salutary dose of maturity that now safeguards him from undertaking anything unreasonable, as he’s aware just how much he could lose should he venture out on to a ragged edge for the sake of an adrenalin rush.
“I think as I’ve grown and matured, you learn what you need and what you don’t need and where your priorities lie,” he reasoned.
“Even speeding on the roads, I used to speed a lot when I was younger, my parents used to live in the countryside and I was totally within my limit but well beyond the speed limit.
“I just think to myself ‘It’s just not necessary’. If I get stopped, I might lose my licence, I might lose my whatever. That stress is not worth the rush that I got from that.
“I’ve got probably the best job in the world with what I do and how stupid would it be to waste it on something like that or crashing my bike getting a slipstream off a bus down a hill in Lanzarote to try and break 100km/h? I think that just comes with age.”
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