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George Russell Extends Opportunity of a Lifetime to F1’s Unsung Heroes With Soul Stirring Gesture to Win the Internet

Published 07/05/2023, 6:45 AM EDT

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via Reuters

“Lap 1 of the 2022 British GP” – This incomplete sentence is enough to send chills down the spine of Zhou Guanyu. The F1 world witnessed a horrendous near-fatal crash at Silverstone last year. Guanyu’s Alfa Romeo was turned upside down because of contact with George Russell‘s Mercedes. Luckily, because of the Halo and the quick work by the marshals, Guanyu came out of the car unscathed. Russell’s latest act of generousness towards those same marshals has caught everybody’s eyes.

At the very beginning of the 2022 British GP race, Pierre Gasly got sandwiched between Russell and Guanyu. Gasly’s contact with Russell caused the W13 to go into the side of Guanyu’s C42. The Chinese driver’s Alfa Romeo turned upside down and continued moving ahead in the same manner for a solid few seconds before flipping over the tire barrier and smashing into the safety fence. Russell joined all the race marshals there to quickly get the Chinese driver out of the upside-down car. Because of their quick actions, Guanyu came out safely.

To commemorate the marshals for their prompt action, George Russell invited them to visit the Mercedes factory in Brackley today. They were given a tour of the Mercedes F1 Operations Center. At the end of the tour, the Briton took time out of his busy schedule to chat with them and click a few photos. One of the marshals posted a photo on Instagram listing the same.

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Joost Van Gerwen was one of the marshals who felt very happy to be there. He thanked Russell and the Mercedes team for this “great and once-in-a-lifetime experience”. Though Russell often receives backlash from Lewis Hamilton fans, with such a gesture, he might have redeemed himself.

Even though Russell has taken part in creating a “once in a lifetime experience” for somebody else, his only race win at the 2022 Brazil GP is also looking to be a “once in a lifetime experience” for him if Mercedes continues the way it is doing.

George Russell Struggles as Problems Pile Up For Mercedes

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Mercedes was touted to be Red Bull‘s biggest competitor, going into Austria. But there, they found themselves to be the 4th quickest team after Ferrari and McLaren. And some blunders from the drivers also got them unwanted time penalties. All Russell could manage was 7 points over the weekend, and Hamilton got only 4.

via Imago

In a post-race interview, the 25-year-old was critical of the W14’s performance. Russell said, as quoted by mirror.co.uk, “The pace was really not what we expected it to be. We have a lot to understand because we took a big step backward. And Lando and McLaren were a big surprise for us, so they clearly got it right.”

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George Russell has started this week with a sweet gesture for the life-saving race marshals. Can he end this week by maybe standing on the podium for Mercedes?

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Written by:

Yash Kotak

555Articles

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Yash is a F1 writer at EssentiallySports. With a strong passion for communicating through written word and a keen interest in the world of motorsports, he thoroughly enjoys being a fan of F1 and covering it for other fans. Ever since he watched the 'INSIDE TRACKS' episode covering the 2018 German Grand Prix, he has fallen in love with the intriguingly complex world of F1.
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Edited by:

Varunkumaar Chelladurai