George Russell becomes the third member of the junior programme of the Mercedes Team.

There, he joined Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Icon- incumbent F1 racers. The 18-year-old Briton got a third place in the European Formula 3 Championship (2016), with Mercedes-Benz supporting and powering him to get numerous wins.

Toto Wolff, Mercedes- Benz Motorsport chief said George has shown impressive form in the junior categories and they have been keeping a close eye on him for a while now. They believe he is in the early days of his career and they see great potential in him.

Russell has been scheduled to compete in 2017 GP3 Series with ART Grand Prix. The company believes it will provide a good test of his skills and credentials towards the future. They believe that since Esteben used it as a testing ground they would be very interested in this series also.
While giving response to the news, Russell said;

“It’s great to be part of the Junior Programme. It is an incredible opportunity to have the backing of the Formula One World Champions. I’m proud to have been given this kind of recognition for all the hard work that’s gone into my career over the years so far.”

Though the first 2017 pre-season test is still weeks away, Russell is prepared to maximize his time in the competition. According to him, he has started work with the team whom he believes are the best in the business and is sure to help him become a developed driver.

He stated that despite knowing that his priority was to get the job done over the coming season in GP3, the opportunity is a huge motivation, and he is really looking forward to the challenge.

Russell was the winner of the BRDC 2014 Formula 4 Championship.