Schumacher, Alonso and Djokovic inspire Russell.

      McLaren drivers have won 11 of the 14 Grands Prix held so far this year, but in Canada George Russell climbed to the top of the podium. He is now the lead driver of the Mercedes works team and, as a leader should, performs very consistently, finishing in the top five in the vast majority of races, and when things go well and the car doesn’t let him down he reaches the podium. Since Australia he has done this six times.

      Therefore, in the drivers’ world championship George trails only Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, sitting in fourth place. Of course this doesn’t satisfy him, as he dreams of a title, but he understands that for now he will have to put such ambitions on hold until better times.

      Taking part in the Untapped podcast, George again spoke about the athletes he considers his heroes — Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso and the famous tennis player Novak Djokovic.

      “A conversation I once had with Djokovic opened my eyes to a lot,” Russell shared. “He told me then that when he was in his twenties he thought he could afford to have one day off training in the gym or on the court, and it wouldn’t affect his form. But he didn’t do that, and now he’s grateful to himself for not giving in to the temptation, because he believes that it was the efforts he made at that age that allow him to continue playing at such a high level to this day, even though he’s now closer to forty.”

      Although George believes that the physical demands in Formula 1 are lower than in tennis, they are still considerable, so it’s necessary to devote maximum attention to training: “I want to keep racing in the world championship when I’m 40. When I see what Alonso is capable of at 44, it inspires me. I see how he works, and it makes me believe that I can too.

      “Michael Schumacher won his first title with Ferrari when he was 31 (in 2000, and that was his third such achievement; he won his first two championships with Benetton). I’m 27 now. Schumacher and Ferrari came to symbolize dominance in Formula 1, but he didn’t win his first title with Ferrari until after he turned 30, and that interesting fact gives me hope.”