George Russell not seeking legacy building incentives from F1 safety pursuit

Mercedes star George Russell took over the representation from the driver's side in GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers’ Association) after Sebastian Vettel retired at the end of the 2022 season. The Brit recently came out and revealed why his role at GODA is so close to his heart, while also detailing the fact that it has nothing to do with building a legacy.

The Grand Prix Drivers' Association is a trade union formed by the F1 drivers to advocate for various cases and representation. The GPDA has been responsible for organizing meetings and standing up against the wrongs, which include the subpar safety standards and other safety issues.

George Russell has never been shy to share his opinion about the wrongdoings in the sport, especially when the safety of the drivers is in focus. The Mercedes driver joined the GPDA in 2021 after Romain Grosjean left the grid after the horrific crash in Bahrain, and became the sole representative from the Drivers' side after Sebastian Vettel’s retirement.

F1 Grand Prix of Hungary - Source: Getty

The Mercedes driver has been active in his role as a Director at the GPDA, and has raised questions over the safety concerns, as well as other decisions made by the FIA. In a recent interview, when George Russell was asked why his role at GPDA is so close to him, he replied (via Motorsport),

“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 [who lost his legs in a British F4 crash in 2017] and had a close relationship with him. Seeing that crash live, and then watching Anthoine [Hubert]'s crash [at Spa 2019 in F2], I was watching that live. It was sickening to watch,” added George Russell.

The Brit went on to give the example of Romain Grosjean’s crash in Bahrain, suggesting it could've happened with anyone, hence his involvement to improve the safety.

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“Don't want to fight”: George Russell comes clean amid the recent FIA comments

FIA changed the rules for the punishment for misconduct by the drivers, which included swearing. George Russell came out and wanted greater detail and transparency on the ruling. The Brit also came out after the incident with Max Verstappen at the Spanish GP, as fans demanded transparency from the FIA behind the penalty decisions made by the stewards.

Speaking about the harmony between the drivers, F1 and FIA, Russell said (via the aforementioned source),

“We don't want to fight against the FIA. We don't want to fight against F1, you want to work together with them, to get the most for them as a sport, the most for them as a regulatory body, and then the most for us as drivers. You want to rise together and fall together. How do you achieve that? That's another thing.”

Carlos Sainz joined Russell as one of the Directors of GPDA ahead of the current season.