Overview

• Russell’s personal experience of watching Billy Monger’s 2017 crash, Anthoine Hubert’s 2019 fatal accident and Romain Grosjean’s 2020 Bahrain fire has fuelled his safety advocacy within the GPDA.
• He publicly supported the decision to delay the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix due to heavy rain and poor visibility, calling it the only sensible choice for driver safety.
• In late 2024, Russell joined GPDA chairman Alexander Wurz, legal adviser Anastasia Fowle and Carlos Sainz in urging FIA president Mohamed Ben Sulayem for more transparency in regulatory decisions.
• Russell has praised FIA race director Rui Marques for actively heeding driver feedback, marking a shift from prior confrontational exchanges with the governing body.
• Under Russell’s leadership, the GPDA reports unprecedented unity among F1 drivers and is exploring formal governance structures to secure lasting representation in rule-making.