He was already three times a British Karting Champion before he even set foot upon the European racing scene this year, but George Russell has rapidly gone and proven that he is every bit as capable of beating the very best internationally as he is nationally – by storming to the coveted CIK-FIA European Championship crown.
Off the back of title success in both the fiercely-fought Super 1 Series and the Lewis Hamilton and Bernie Ecclestone-backed Formula Kart Stars Championship at Mini Max level last year, George has graduated to the more powerful KF3 class in 2011 – and pitched himself right in at the deep end in Europe for good measure. Despite still learning the ropes in his new surroundings at the time, the highly-rated Wisbech speed demon progressed safely through the European Championship’s PF International qualifying round with admirable ease.
“Racing in KF3 in Europe compared to Mini Max in Britain has been a massive jump,” he acknowledges. “The drivers are all really good, the tracks are a lot bigger and you’ve got to always be really aware and get to know different people’s driving styles. It’s generally just a lot more physically and mentally demanding. It was mainly the racecraft side of things in KF3 that we had to get used to – that’s what took a little bit of time – but our speed has been there right from day one.”
That much was ably evinced by a starring performance in the WSK Euro Series outing at La Conca in Italy preceding the European Championship Final at Zuera in Spain, as George triumphed in practically every race he started to hand himself a timely confidence boost ahead of the big event.
Up against what was inarguably the sternest opposition he has faced in his career thus far at Zuera – the veritable crème de la crème of young talent at KF3 level the world over, with too many potential winners to count and not a slouch in sight – if the Tydd St Giles ace had never competed there before, you would have been hard-pressed to tell as he wasted little time in lapping right on the front-running pace.
“Zuera is a really good track, and a tough one to drive,” he reflects. “It’s got some amazing corners, including a really long, fast right-hander towards the middle of the lap that’s particularly challenging – you have to keep good speed through it whilst still sticking to the racing line. We had been quick at La Conca and also in testing, so I was feeling optimistic about my chances and was confident of being able to carry that form through and do some damage.”
Lining up in a strong sixth position in the tremendously competitive, 82-strong KF3 field in qualifying – a mere two tenths of a second shy of the outright benchmark – George professed himself satisfied and ready to attack from third on the grid in each of his four heat races. The first of them would get proceedings off to the perfect start.
“The two drivers ahead of me both ran wide as they battled around the opening lap, and I was able to sweep past into the lead,” recalled the Intrepid Driver Program member. “That enabled me to establish a bit of an early gap, which I then just maintained all the way to the end.
“I led most of the way in heat two, as well, but then going into the last corner, I thought the chasing pack were a bit further behind than they actually were. I went in only semi-defensively, and the driver in second was able to dive up the inside, taking three others with him. In hindsight, I should have defended a bit more...”
If fifth position in the circumstances was not a disaster, then the next heat indubitably was as electrical gremlins left George powerless to fight off his rivals down the straights and losing as much as two-seconds-per-lap – a near eternity in karting terms. With the results representing grid points towards the finals, in heat four, the pressure was on – and he responded to it magnificently.
“We knew that once we had fixed the problem, we had the speed, so my confidence was still up,” the Wisbech Grammar School student maturely mused, his self-belief and demeanour impressively unflappable. “I got into the lead early on, but then after the driver behind me went past, I decided to push him away from the rest so that it would be just between the two of us.
“On the last lap, I then made a lunge into the first hairpin. I don’t think he was really expecting it, because he ran wide on the exit which gave me a decent gap that I held right the way to the flag.”
His second heat victory out of four – a laudable 50 per cent strike rate – George confessed that he was glad the electrical issue had occurred and been successfully diagnosed and repaired when it had rather than in the all-important final, when everything is truly at stake.Before that, though, the 13-year-old had to get through the pre-final, and from sixth on the starting grid, he gained a couple of spots to fourth place early on despite struggling for mid-range engine power – the legacy of overnight track condition changes and a longer race. Taking advantage of a collision ahead, he wound up an excellent second, albeit ruing that ‘we were still fast – but not fast enough’. Some alterations ahead of the final, however, saw to it that he was swiftly right back in the ballpark once again – and right back in the hunt.
“Going up to the start-line, I hung back a little so that I could get my foot down early and get a better run,” explained the multiple Kartmasters Champion. “I timed it perfectly, and although the pole-sitter and I went over the line side-by-side, I had the momentum and used that to go around the outside of him into the first corner.
“I then stayed out wide for the second corner because I was unable to get across, and we went in side-by-side again but I braked as late as I could and darted in front of him. I think that caught him by surprise, because he seemed to slam on his brakes, which held the rest of the field up too and gave me a big gap. That move was crucial to the outcome of the race, and after that, we were able to lap consistently quickly and keep widening the gap by a tenth or two every lap.
“I kept on pushing and refused to look behind, because I knew if I did and saw they were close to me, that’s when you begin pushing too hard and errors can start to creep in. I was just telling myself to stay cool, and as I was coming out of one of the hairpins, I could see the driver in second place going in, so I knew I had a decent margin.
“Even so, the last few laps were definitely nerve-wracking! I didn’t want anything to go wrong, and whilst I continued to push, I wasn’t going right to the limit anymore; I was careful not to run too wide through the corners and to keep away from the kerbs on the inside.”
It was a sensible approach, and one that yielded – when the chequered flag came down at the end of 15 laps of absolute precision driving – the greatest trophy to adorn George’s cabinet yet. The CIK-FIA European Championship is one of the most prestigious meetings on the annual karting calendar – and Cambridgeshire’s finest has just gone and inscribed his name amongst the sport’s elite on its winners’ list.
“When I crossed the finish line, it just felt unbelievable,” he concluded, still somewhat taken aback at having defeated throughout the qualifying rounds and the final, no fewer than 153 adversaries to prevail. “It took quite a while to sink in that I had won the European Championship. It was just amazing, and so much more special than anything I’d ever won before. This has topped everything else by a mile!”
