The luxury life of Formula One’s George Russell: how the Mercedes driver and star of Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive spends big on luxury cars, designer suits and holidays with his girlfriend
- A Mercedes driver off the track as well as on, Russell also competes against drivers Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon in sim racing
- With his tall build and love of Instagram, he’s also proved to be the perfect model for Mr Porter’s Kingsman collection, and wears Bremont and IWC watches
After his first season driving for the Mercedes team, George Russell clearly has a bright future ahead of him and looks set to rake in many millions both on and off the track. He already has a growing collection of expensive cars, bikes and high-end watches, and like other drivers before him, has his sights set on a move to Monaco.
His bank balance has also come a long way since he received his first big pay cheque of US$120,000 at the tender age of 16, when he won the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, as it was named in 2014. During a 2020 interview with Sky Sports, he said the cash prize gave him the necessary funds to keep racing until Mercedes picked him for their junior driver programme in 2017. “Essentially, without that [prize] I wouldn’t be here today,” he said.
Russell officially became a Formula One driver when he joined Williams Racing in 2019. Last year, he signed a “long-term contract” with Mercedes rumoured to include a US$5 million salary before bonuses and other endorsements. Precise figures are a closely guarded secret, however.
Although his wealth does not rival that of more seasoned drivers such as Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel yet, at 24, he is one of the youngest drivers on tour and thus has the potential to narrow the wealth gap over time. Working in Russell’s favour is not only his obvious talent, but his English charm, ease in front of the camera and online presence.
George Russell drives Mercedes on and off the track
Having been part of the Mercedes family since 2017, it comes as little surprise that Russell has since acquired a few of the German brand’s high-end cars. To date, he has owned a blue Mercedes AMG C63 and a white Mercedes AMG C63 S, each with price tags of around US$80,000. Proving how much he cares for his rides, he shared photos of him washing the cars himself, claiming one should “take care of the things you love”.
His most impressive car, however, is the Selenite Grey Mercedes AMG GT S Coupe, which boasts a 4.0 litre, twin-turbocharged V8 engine and can reach speeds of over 300km/h. Prices for the car start at around US$120,000. Russell is certainly smitten with it, posting a picture of the car in March 2020 captioned “love at first sight” and another a year later, saying: “Love my little rocket!”