George Russell reveals emotional reason for taking up F1 role away from Mercedes

Mercedes F1 star George Russell has revealed the emotional reason why he undertakes another role outside of Mercedes.

Russell is one of the directors of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), a role that has previously been held by the likes of Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello.

The role acts as a bridge between the drivers and the FIA and Formula One Management, giving all the drivers on the F1 grid a voice through one singular figure.

Recent examples of the GPDA in action include when the drivers signed a joint statement in November aimed at FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, asking the governing body for more transparency and for Ben Sulayem to treat them like adults when it came to fines for swearing.

In the past, however, the GPDA has been crucial for forcing F1 to consider better safety measures. Following Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger's deaths at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, for example, the GPDA asked the FIA to limit speeds in dangerous areas and improve safety technology, and the safety of the sport has improved dramatically since then.

The GPDA also encouraged new safety reforms following Jules Bianchi's death in 2014, including the halo cockpit protection device, which F1 (and some drivers) had initially resisted.

Now, Russell has revealed the reason why he wants to head the very important work done by the organisation.

"Well, there’s no reason why the cars can’t be as safe as possible, while the sport is as entertaining as possible," Russell told Maxim. "There’s no reason why those two things can’t co-exist. And what makes the sport entertaining is good racing, good overtakes, these glamorous destinations that people love to see F1 go into.

"Actually, the people, if they see the cars are slightly safer or slightly more unsafe, I don’t think that has a huge sway in their viewpoint. And for me, I’ve unfortunately had friends of mine lose their life with crashes. I’ve had friends of mine had legs amputated in crashes.

"When somebody so talented has an unfortunate incident, and you see that outcome, you want to try to contribute to improving the safety. If one of my friends could still be here today if things were slightly different…. [pause] I want to ensure that doesn’t happen to any of us moving forward. And those incidents don’t discriminate."

The history of the GPDA

The association was initially founded in 1961 and in today's format, Russell acts as a director alongside Carlos Sainz, while former F1 driver Alexander Wurz is the chairman.

It was initially in action between 1961-1982, but was disbanded following a successful driver strike in 1982 which led to the FIA backing down on new rules that gave them greater power to strip away drivers' FIA super licences, but also led to the drivers being fined and sanctioned.

The GPDA was replaced by the Professional Racing Drivers Association (PRDA), before it reformed in 1994 after the tragic San Marino GP, with Senna proposing the reorganisation of the GPDA before his accident at the Imola track.

After that race weekend, Niki Lauda, Christian Fittipaldi, Michael Schumacher, and Gerhard Berger re-established the GPDA, with assistance from Martin Brundle.

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