George Russell Crowned GP3 Series Champion in Abu Dhabi
Mercedes-AMG F1 Junior and ART GP Driver George Russell finished the final race of the season in 4th position - before being officially crowned champion in the GP3 Prize Giving in Yas Marina
The 18 year old British rising star has an impressive racing resume which includes championship victories in karting before making his single seater debut in 2014, where he won the BRDC Formula 4 Championship. This victory paved the way for his first GP3 test in December of the same year. George also won the prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Award and a Formula One test with the Woking based squad.
In 2015 Russell moved up to Formula 3 where he raced for the next two years, finishing third overall in the 2016 drivers’ standings. Also, thanks to some impressive performances during his three first years in motorsport, George will be part of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport junior drivers program in 2017.
At the end of last year, George tested for the ART GP3 team at the Yas Marina Circuit where he impressed the French based squad enough to sign him for the 2017 Championship season.
George Russell “It is a huge honour to join ART Grand Prix. This is a team I have looked up to for a long time as somewhere I would love to race one day."
"After my 2 days of testing in Abu Dhabi at the end of last year, I really got to see and understand why these guy are so successful. There is a huge amount of experience and talent throughout the whole team, in which I’m sure will help me to develop as a driver."
The newly signed third member of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport Young Driver Programme intends to fight for the championship title, following in the footsteps of fellow Young Driver Esteban Ocon, who took the GP3 Series title in 2015 with ART GP in his debut season.
George Russell "I am massively excited to be competing in the GP3 series this year. This will be a new challenge for me but I can’t wait for it. I have the right guys around me and I will give my all to help ART continue their long standing success in this championship.”
Report: ART GP
Images: FotoFormulaK