George Russell in Canada — Photo: © IMAGO

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Mercedes star George Russell 'almost ran over' F1 photographer

George Russell may be an F1 driver but his parking clearly needs work!

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Saturday 9 August 2025 13:57

Mercedes star George Russell has been exposed by F1 photographer Kym Illman after being caught in a hectic near miss at last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.

In a lighthearted video posted to TikTok, lllman revealed: "George Russell almost ran me over in the car park!"

Article continues under video

"What happened? Let me tell you," the F1 insider continued, adding that he was waiting in the car park along with Russell's own photographer, Richard Pardon, with the pair kneeling down to take photos of the 27-year-old exiting in his Mercedes.

"George is driving towards us with a car full of people and I think, 'fine I'm safe, because Richard is in front of me', however, I didn't see Richard quickly ducked to the side and George has seen me and jokingly gunned the accelerator, just for a millisecond, but certainly got me moving," Illman detailed.

The Australian photographer and YouTuber then shared the final image he took of Russell at the wheel, where the four-time grands prix winner could be seen wearing an interesting facial expression.

Kym Illman shares unique insights into the paddock as an F1 photographer

Russell heads out of Hungary on a high

The F1 photographer also revealed that Russell's parking didn't leave much to be desired, saying: "Then he parked his car and I watched him and I've got to tell you, I give him a four out of 10 for his parking effort!"

Luckily, the British F1 driver put in a more impressive show on Sunday in Budapest, piloting his W16 to claim his 21st career podium.

Having taken advantage of a flailing Ferrari, Russell finally stole P3 from Charles Leclerc on lap 62 of the 70-lap affair, though the Monegasque star didn't let the move happen easily.

Leclerc was handed a five-second time penalty for erratic driving in his battle with Russell, with the Mercedes star finishing on a much better note than his rival in red after claiming the fastest lap.

The stars of the F1 grid will now enjoy a well-earned rest during the annual summer shutdown, and Russell can sit back and relax on his yacht safe in the knowledge that he did all he could to help Mercedes catch up to Ferrari in the constructors' standings last time out.

After a nightmare weekend for the Scuderia, Mercedes are now only 24 points away from the Italian F1 outfit in the team standings, with Russell hoping for a further boost when the championship returns at the end of this month for the Dutch GP.

@kymillmanf1 George Russell is a menace! However, I had the last laugh as I caught his dodgy parking efforts and all of the other parking offences in the drivers' car park! #f1 #f1content #formula1 #hungariangp #motorsports ♬ original sound - Kym Illman F1 photographer

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here she realised her background in journalism and love of motorsport could be combined, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work more closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan which she hopes to build on.

View full biography

Mercedes George Russell Hungarian Grand Prix Kym Illman