Russell shocked by responsibilities as GPDA chairman: 'It's so political'

George Russell says he never expected his role as GPDA chairman to have come with so many responsibilities attached to it, nor that it also involved a lot more politics than the Mercedes driver had anticipated.

Russell became president of the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA) in 2021. Since the retirement of Sebastian Vettel and Romain Grosjean's departure from F1, he is the only current Formula 1 driver in that role, working alongside former F1 driver Alexander Wurz.

Recently, Russell has had his hands full with his activities as GPDA president. For instance, the drivers' union wrote a letter to the FIA, personally addressing Mohammed Ben Sulayem about his conduct. There was no official response to that letter, except for the FIA president's suggesting to the drivers that they should "mind their own business".

Russell was blindsided by his position as GPDA president.

"When I signed up in my role as GPDA [director], I never expected to have so much on my hands and for it to be so political, I don't really understand any of this side of the sport," Russell said to Autosport.com. The Briton also stresses that he took on the task mainly from a sporting and safety point of view.

"Whereas, now, it seems all we're talking about is the politics of the sport," he continued. Russell claimed not to be "educated enough" on the recent changes in the FIA and, therefore, refrains from commenting on them but does state that the drivers are united and that they all want the best for the sport. "We want transparency. And we want to help the FIA, and as simple as that," he concluded.

This article was written in collaboration with Norberto Mujica

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