George Russell: A Biography

by James Gray

From James Gray, author of the bestselling Max Verstappen , comes the very first biography of Lewis Hamilton's designated successor George Russell, published to mark the British Grand Prix. From dominating the karting tracks of East Anglia to the top of the podium in Formula 3 and Formula 2, George Russell has now fully established himself as a rising Formula 1 star. After cutting his teeth as a driver with Williams, in 2022 he signed a lucrative contract with Mercedes, highlighting the extent of his raw talent. Driving for Mercedes, Russell has been confirmed as the designated successor to none other than Lewis Hamilton. As Hamilton's heir-apparent, will this protégé manage to follow in the footsteps of the greatest F1 driver of all time? Sports journalist and author of Max Verstappen James Gray traces how George Russell has been setting the racing track alight since the age of seven and how he is now destined to become the successor to the crown of British motor racing.

288 pages, Paperback

Published July 6, 2023

Reviews

[annabel lecklider · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love George Russell and Mercedes so muchhh

i definitely learned a lot in this book

might read the Max Verstappen one next?

[Fleur Rogerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know way too much about George Russell now

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

hate him or love him, i doubt this book would change your initial stance, but he is undoubtedly the most complex and fascinating personality I've read about. I don't think he's an easy guy to figure out and frankly, the ending seemed like a transition into a different george that we are just starting to bubble up to the surface. we NEED a sequel. I appreciated how well james gray tried to capture the multiple shades of george, and allowed us to come to our own conclusions (cause after a point, you do kind of wonder how many more shades he can have)

but yes feels very much like we need a sequel with how intense and in depth it was going, so the end felt abrupt and not as deeply satisfying as it should be. (which is perhaps why george himself wouldn't be happy with his journey until he gets that wdc as the end)

[Tanisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as an eARC from Icon Books through NetGalley and this review is based on my own opinion.

Saying this as a Leclerc fan, this is to date my favourite Formula 1 biography that I've read.

The book starts with a bit of history about the sport and George his hometown but after that it goes into depth about George's way into Formula 1.

The writer did great research for this book and I loved that he also described important details about some race highlights for George.

I'm not the biggest George fan but I quite enjoyed reading it so I would really recommend it if you're a George Russell fan or if you like Formula 1 biographies in general.

[Sharon Valler: Live Love Read Review · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great insight into Formula 1, of course primarily about George Russell, but if, like me, you’re not a massive George fan, there is also loads of interesting F1 history and knowledge shared.

My only criticism is that the first three chapters revolve around the history of Norfolk, Cricket and Tennis, and I did skip quite a bit there as it was boring for a die-hard F1 fan, but once it moved onto F1, it was great 👍🏻

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, James Gray and Icon for an ARC in return for an honest review.

[Eesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came into this book as a George Russell fan and came out from reading this as even more of a George Russell fan! I don't think I would have enjoyed this as much if it wasn't about my favourite driver, and I previously read the Max Verstappen book by the same author and the text was much better. The reason this book is 4 stars and not 5 is that it often went off on tangents about things not really related that much to the book or the current point, or the driver himself. Overall a great biography though!

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy via Netgalley.

I have to admit you may need to be a Formula one fan to enjoy this.

I also enjoyed the first part of the book learning how his parents supported him at all times, rather than the later part of the book when he became works driver.

Overall though this is an enjoyable Biography.

[James! · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very detailed and informing novel on who is my favourite F1 driver. It was lovely to see his entire path, including the rough parts and the peaks, really shows how much a driver goes through before they reach the pinnacle of the sport

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastically well researched book, if you’re a fan of F1 this is a great read and if you know a fan this would make the perfect present.

[Jenny Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, George <3

[emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

listened to the audiobook!
i feel like i learnt so much about f1 and the motorsport world through george’s story and it was such an insightful book, gr63 ily 🩵

[Alexander Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how the author added hi entire jounry onto this book