F1 star George Russell has 'big flipper feet' and they almost ruined his Mercedes debut

Photo: © IMAGO

George Russell

F1 star George Russell has 'big flipper feet' and they almost ruined his Mercedes debut

Russell's Mercedes debut was a tight fit

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Sunday 16 August 2026 21:45

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George Russell's Mercedes debut back in 2020 was memorable for more than one reason.

It is six years now since the 28-year-old British star first drove a Silver Arrows in race action at the Sakhir Grand Prix.

Russell received a very late call-up in race week when seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton tested positive for COVID, and within 24 hours he was getting into the Mercedes to try it for size. Immediately there was an issue.

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The issue related to George's height, and also his feet. You may have seen them taking a starring role on the hit Netflix show 'Drive to Survive' and they apparently have a near-perfect rating on WikiFeet.

Painful first fit for Russell at Mercedes

Russell himself revisited his feelings he first got into the W11 during an interview with team sponsor SAP this week.

He began: "So this was an unexpected call up. F1 fans will probably remember remember the day when, fortunately, Lewis Hamilton caught COVID and he was feeling okay but wasn't allowed to race because of the rules and I jumped in, which was a huge opportunity for me.

"I got the phone call on the Tuesday. I jumped in the car on Wednesday to see if I fit, and I did not. It was Lewis and Valtteri Bottas, who were the two drivers at the time, are quite a bit shorter than me."

"I've also got quite big flipper feet as well, which is quite tight in a Formula One car. And you know, I was scrunched in, bent over, my my shoes didn't fit.

George Russell admits he has 'quite big flipper feet'.

"So I'm a size 45 like 11.5, 11, 11.5. And I had to wear size 43 shoes to fit in. But they were asking me, is it okay?"

An opportunity not to be missed, despite the feet

At this stage the competitive instinct in Russell took complete control as he realised this was an opportunity he could not miss, certainly not because of the size of his feet.

"I was like, 'yeah, totally fine - no issues, no issues'.

"Like I'm driving like no matter what, I am driving this weekend, first time in the car and yeah, qualified on the front row."

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