George Russell could have had a career in DTM
The Mercedes driver revealed that in 2015 he was approached by BMW to take part in the DTM championship.
A choice that shapes a career. In 2015, George Russell concludes a season in Formula 3 Europe alongside the biggest names in current Formula 1: Albon, Leclerc, and even Stroll. This year, he finishes in sixth place in the rankings and is contacted by BMW to participate in the DTM championship. However, another offer made him change his mind.
In 2015, I received an offer from BMW to race in DTM. I did a test with BMW in December at Jerez, they sent one of their factory drivers [Tom Blomqvist, editor’s note] as a reference. We ended up being faster than the reference. Mercedes was doing the rookie test with their own factory driver and rookies, and Audi also participated, he revealed to Motor Sport.
Third in his second season of F3 Europe.
« It was absolutely clear for Mercedes: “If you sign with BMW, there will be no opportunity with Mercedes in the future.” The agreement proposed by Mercedes was an option: “Continue racing in Formula 3 for one more year with a team supported by Mercedes – which was Hitech – you will come and do all the simulator work for Mercedes F1, we will see how you perform, both on and off the track, and we will decide in October if we take you. There is a chance that we won’t take you, there is a chance that we will. But if you sign the BMW contract, it’s over.”
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George Russell hesitates but declines the offer from the brand with the propeller and decides to continue for another season in Formula 3. He finishes this time in third place. This result is satisfactory for Mercedes, who hires him.
The next step? The GP3 and Formula 2 titles, even as a rookie each time. The British driver takes the plunge and signs with Williams in Formula 1. For three seasons, he remains within the Grove team before finally joining the team that trusted him when he was 17 years old.
