George Russell looks alive and alert in our interview, but you would never guess that he’s fresh off the jet. The British Formula 1 driver—and his other 19 competitors, including teammate Lewis Hamilton—are back in action at Austin, Texas after a month-long break. Despite a back-to-back schedule with press and brand obligations, George is cool, calm, and collected even as he fumbles over his words after a long day of interviews.
“The season has been relentless but coming to Austin, it’s such a great city,” said the 26-year-old Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS driver, last month. “It’s so vibrant [here]. Everyone is excited to see F1 and as drivers, you really feel that support and love for the sport, coupled with the fact that [COTA] is such a great circuit.”
Teams are scrambling to finish off the season with a bang—or as high up on the Constructors’ Championship as possible. In Austin, Mercedes came back with new parts to the car for the weekend, hoping to secure a victory—if not, a podium—under their belts.
Even with new-and-improved upgrades to the cars, George ended in 6th place with a five-second penalty, and Lewis’s spin off track disqualified him from the race. Mercedes were understandably looking to recover from an unfortunate weekend. The following week was the Mexico Grand Prix which fared better for the team, with Lewis in 5th and George in 6th. The Brazilian Grand Prix weekend is now underway, and competition at the top is leaving much to anticipate with the final four races left to the season.
“The season is so close at the moment between us, Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren. You only need one tenth of a second and it swings the result substantially,” George says. “In the past, you could be quite confident saying, ‘I believe this [race] is going to suit us and we’re gonna be on course for a good weekend.’ But now, because it’s so close between everyone, it’s difficult to predict. So, we’re going into every race believing that this can be our weekend to step on the top step of the podium."
Though Mercedes isn’t in a position to fight for the championship this year, the driver mentions that the last few race weekends are optimal for experimenting with different strategies.
“Unfortunately, we’re not in a position to fight for the championship this year, but we hope next year that we are, and that means we need to maximize these last races,” he says. “These races are our last chance before the new season next year and we want to be hitting the ground running to take the pressure off us so we can go out there and really enjoy it.”
The British driver still has a lot of jetting left to do, and that includes traveling with a few essentials: Sunglasses to “avoid the lights” and aid with sleep when he settles onto the plane, and a pillow straight from home. “I have the exact same pillow as I have in my bed at home,” he says. “Bringing a piece of home with me really helps.”
And in between catching flights and hitting the track, you’ll find George at a Marriott hotel—or maybe, his face plastered on a screen. “I gave my brother a bit of a scare once when he arrived at a hotel,” he says. “He just heard me talking in the background, and he thought he accidentally called me, but realized it was actually from a screen.”
“We have a number of activations with Marriott Bonvoy across the whole season," he continued. "We’ve often had guests come into the races, people who have more points can win specific prizes. When you're a Marriott Bonvoy member and you are gathering those points, you've got the opportunity to win something great whether that's a hotel upgrade or a trip to a certain race, so it's a pretty special partnership. We’re lucky to stay at Marriott hotels everywhere we travel and they’re all amazingly different because you know the quality of the service you're getting is always going to highlight.
"For me, the service is always a big factor. Everyone is so polite and welcoming and eager to help. The cleanliness, as well, which is knowing when you get into a new room that is going to be cleaned to the highest standard and everything's fresh.
"It smells nice. It looks nice. It’s the small details. You know, the amenities, bathroom — we're very fortunate to be partnered with Marriott because travel is such a huge part of our lives in Formula 1. We’re always sleeping away from home, but we know everywhere we go, we’re going to have the best service and the best hotels available to us.
"There are cool activations with Marriott Bonvoy. Marriott is such an iconic brand and so many similarities with Mercedes in terms of trying to be the best in the business on the luxury side of things. The service is always going to be great and I think the two brands complement each other where I'd say that both are on the same level within their own sector. They’re two really classy brands — the same way you find a Mercedes car. You know you're always going to get something great, something, reliable that you can trust, like with the Marriott hotels.”