'Sickening' fatal crash prompted Mercedes F1 star Russell to take action

George Russell has opened up about the fatal crash that prompted the F1 star to take action on driver safety.

Motorsport has a dangerous history, with F1’s biggest names — from Ayrton Senna to Jim Clark — losing their lives competing in the sport they loved.

While there has been huge advances in driver safety, including the TecPro barriers shielding the circuit and the halo over the cockpit of a car, there have still unfortunately been fatal accidents in recent years.

F2 star Anthoine Hubert was involved in a fatal crash at Spa in 2019 and Dilano van 't Hoff also died at the circuit in a multi-car collision in the Formula Regional Championship in 2023.

Reflecting on driver safety, Russell shared how accidents involving Hubert and British F4 driver Billy Monger have impacted him and prompted him to take action on the issue.

"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,” he told Autosport.

Russell speaks out on driver safety

The deaths of Hubert and van ‘t Hoff were firmly in the minds of race control at the 2025 Belgian GP, where the start to the race was delayed due to wet conditions and the poor visibility out on track.

While some drivers, such as Max Verstappen, bemoaned the end of ‘classic wet weather races' Russell supported the decision from a safety standpoint, and claimed racing in those conditions would have been ‘stupid’.

"When you experience things like this with people who you know so well, and you believe you have ideas that can help improve the safety or prevent that from happening, then you naturally want to share it,” Russell continued concerning the issue of driver safety.

"Again, Romain Grosjean's crash [in Bahrain 2020], I saw that. He was in front of me and I passed him, and I still see the image in my head now. I looked in my mirror, and all I could see was flames. It took over my whole mirror.

"That could have happened to anyone. It could have happened to the greatest driver in the world. That's just the danger we face. So, I think that's probably why I wanted to be more involved than not."

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