George Russell explains how Fernando Alonso inspired him to approach races differently

George Russell has been improving his results ever since the summer break.

George Russell explains how Fernando Alonso inspired him to approach races differently

Fernando Alonso and George Russell (Via IMAGO)

The 2023 season so far has been of mixed emotions for George Russell. It has been a roller coaster of a season so far in terms of performances for him, with Lewis Hamilton extracting more pace and solid results from an underwhelming W14. The ex-Willaims driver has shown some progress after the mid-season break. He recently revealed that his improvement can be attributed to a change mid-set inspired by Fernando Alonso,

Russell, who has scored 132 points this season, is trailing his teammate, Hamilton, with 194 points, in the championship table. With a 62-point difference, the seven-time world champion has turned his focus to out-scoring Sergio Perez by the end of the season. For Russell, the target is to finish the season in the top-5. His P4 finsih in the Qatar GP, despite a lap one crash, gives him enough confidence and momentum to achieve the set objective.

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Speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast hosted by Tom Clarkson, Russell was asked about the reason for the performance change after the summer break. Russell claimed that his performance improved due to his ‘mentality change.’ He said, as reported by F1.com, “I think a small mentality change from my side, how I work with my engineers, I’m not focusing on the set-up of the car, and just probably enjoying life a bit more.”

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Russell claimed that he heard a podcast of Alonso where he revealed that he regrets not enjoying his races enough when he was young. This inspired the English driver to cherish the time he is having now in F1. Russell said, “Fernando said that if he could change one thing in his career, he wishes he enjoyed the moment more often when he was younger. I think that resonated with me because I’m living my dream here, but I’m so dedicated.”

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George Russell emphasized that his mental approach has nothing to do with his commitment to F1

With the new ‘mentality change,’ Russell was definitely reaping the benefits. Although he reiterated that he is still as dedicated to F1 as he was before, he’s just enjoying life more. He also added that he isn’t any ‘less professional’ now.

George Russell (Via IMAGO)
George Russell (Via IMAGO)

He also claimed that he was in a much happier place now. His improving performance is proof of this mentality shift. The 2022 Brazlian GP winner added that he keeps on learning new things, which he wouldn’t have dreamed of doing before this change. He reassures me that he is in ‘a good place’ altogether.

Russell’s battle continues with Lando Norris, who is four points ahead of him. All Russell needs to outscore Norris consistently to overtake him in points and not make major mistakes like the one from the Singapore GP.

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