09/06/2025 17:20
George Russell has warned F1 that the championship's current boom
could quickly come crashing to the ground, like a Jenga tower. The
27-year-old is one of the more outspoken drivers in the F1 paddock,
something that complements his role as a Grand Prix Drivers'
Association (GPDA) director. In the position since 2021, the
three-time grand prix winner has overseen a period of relative
tension between F1 and its governing body, the FIA. That is in
large part due to the premiership of current president Mohammed Ben
Sulayem, who has proven to be a polarising figure in motorsport. As
the relationship between the two parties has grown more strained
and political, Russell has needed to become more involved in the
drivers' union than might otherwise have been. However, he insists
the bulk of the work is still being done by others. "I'll be
honest: Alex Wurz [GPDA President] and Anastasia Fowle, our legal
advisor, handle most of the heavy lifting," the Mercedes driver
told Motorsport-total . "But of course, over the last 18 months,
we've been much more involved than we originally expected because
things have become so divisive. "The developments were quite
surprising, even for me personally. I was much more involved, but
you have to find a balance. When I joined the GPDA, I didn't really
intend to be so politically involved with the FIA, because that
wasn't really a factor at all at that point. It was more of a
cooperative affair." 'If a single piece falls, the entire structure
can collapse' Whilst the championship has continued to enjoy
significant growth since 2021, by still riding the wave of
popularity instigated by the Netflix docu-series Drive to Survive ,
Russell is aware of how difficult it is to solidify that
groundswell of interest, given the precarious nature of achieving
sustainable success. But despite the hostile atmosphere between the
two bodies, he has not been dissuaded from his role with the GPDA.
When asked if those tensions could make him want to step away from
the position, the British driver declined and highlighted how
critical the juncture at which F1 finds itself is as his reason for
staying put. "No, I wouldn't. Because right now, we're riding a
wave as a sport - but if you fall off the wave, things can go
downhill very quickly," he replied. "So we all need to remain very
vigilant and not take Formula 1's current position for granted. The
teams are doing a great job. Liberty and Stefano [Domenicali] are
doing a fantastic job with marketing and promotion, as they
recently did with Lego, for example." Likening the situation to a
Jenga tower, Russell underlined how important it is for F1 to avoid
becoming a house of cards that comes crashing down. "But it's like
a Jenga tower: If a single piece falls, the entire structure can
collapse," he explained. "So we mustn't let up now, while we're in
this strong position - because, as I said, things can change very
quickly. "The upswing can disappear just as unexpectedly as it
came. That's why this phase is perhaps more crucial than ever."
