The Most Expensive Car In George Russell's Collection
Professional racers don't always have a fleet of road-going supercars to enjoy in their time away from the circuit. Jenson Button is an obvious exception, having previously owned a Bugatti Veyron, among many others, says GQ. But for the most, part drivers end up behind the wheel of whatever cars their team provides.
This is the case for British F1 driver George Russell, who graduated into the top-tier of world motorsport after winning the 2018 Formula 2 World Championship, and has driven Mercedes street cars ever since. Russell already had F1 experience at this point, having done simulator work at Mercedes in 2016, says Formula Scout, and joining the team's junior driver program in 2017.
Russell became a Mercedes reserve driver for the 2018 season, and took part in testing sessions that year while also competing in Formula 2. The following season, while still part of the Mercedes young driver program, Russell joined Williams for his first season of F1, partnering with Robert Kubica.
In moving to Williams, the young Brit joined what was once a championship-winning team at arguably the lowest point in its history. Russell ended the 2019 season in 20th and last place, having scored no points, but proved his pace was impressive by out-qualifying his teammate in all 21 rounds that year.
Mercedes-AMG C63
Little is known about what street cars Russell drove early in his career. Born in 1998, he only reached the UK legal driving age of 17 in 2015. He wasn't seen with a street car on his Instagram profile until March 2019, when he posted a photo of him cleaning a Mercedes AMG C63. The car would have been worth around $70,000 at the time, depending on specification. Given it was likely provided by Mercedes itself, it was likely over MSRP with any complementary options.
Available as a sedan, coupe, and convertible, the C63 AMG is powered by a 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 engine producing 469 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque. It can accelerate from 0-60 mph in a little under 4.0 seconds, and has an electronically-limited top speed of 155 mph.
Russel scored his first F1 points in 2020, when he was called up by Mercedes to replace a COVID-positive Lewis Hamilton at the Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain, according to F1. Russell led much of the race, but lost places due to a pit stop error by the Mercedes team. He recovered to second place, but was forced to pit again to replace a punctured tire, and eventually finished in points-scoring ninth position.
Around this time, he appears to have switched from a sensible sedan to a sportier two-seater for his everyday driving.
Mercedes-AMG GT Coupe
According to his Instagram, Russell spends most of his time in a Mercedes-AMG GT Coupe. The car first appeared in an Instagram post in March 2020, with the caption "love at first sight," and also featured in July 2020 and March 2021.
The two-seat sports car is a front-engine grand tourer to rival the likes of the Bentley Continental GT, Aston Martin DBS, and the Ferrari Roma. AMG launched the GT Coupe in 2015, and followed up with the quicker GT S and GT R editions, along with the convertible GT C Roadster. A face-lifted version of the GT and GT S arrived in 2017, then the flagship GT Black Series landed in 2020, billed as Mercedes' "most raucous model."
Mercedes says the current model is powered by a 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged, dry-sump V8 engine, producing 523 horsepower and accelerating the car from 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds. The engine is mated to a rear-mounted, seven-speed double-clutch, semi-automatic gearbox and electric limited-slip differential. The car is priced from $118,600.
Mercedes-AMG C63 S
The British driver remained at Williams for the 2021 season, during which he finished 18th in the championship with three points.
In July of 2021, Russell posted a photo on Instagram of him cleaning another Mercedes-AMG C63, but this time the quicker S edition. "Take care of the things you love," Russell wrote. The C63 S is also powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine, producing 503 horsepower and hitting 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, according to testing by Car & Driver. The C63 S is priced at around $86,000 MSRP.
The following year, Russell graduated from back-of-the-grid Williams to frontrunners of Mercedes for the 2022 season, partnering with seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton.
Although a difficult year for Mercedes as a whole, 2022 saw Russel secure his first podium at the Australian Grand Prix, his first pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix, and his first win at the Brazilian Grand Prix. He finished fourth in the drivers' championship, as recorded by the official F1 website, 35 points ahead of Hamilton.
Mercedes-AMG G63
Most recently, in June 2022, Russell posted an Instagram photo of him standing next to a Mercedes-AMG G63 — the boxy SUV also known as the G-Wagen. Priced from $179,000, the car is yet again powered by AMG's 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8 motor; this time producing 577 horsepower, a massive 627 pound-feet of torque, and giving the car a 0-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds, according to Mercedes.
As with all of Russell's cars, it is hard to estimate the G63's exact value due to what optional extras it might be fitted with. Given these cars are likely provided by his employer, it's easy to expect them to be fully-loaded. In the case of the G63, this could mean adding an extra $13,770 with the three packages of extras currently offered by Mercedes-Benz USA. Add in some custom paint, and this is likely a $200,000 car.
It isn't known if Russell owns any other cars, or indeed if he is interested in growing a collection of street vehicles. On social media, at least, he is only ever seen driving (and often washing) cars by Mercedes-AMG. Great things are expected from Russell's career, so it will be interesting to see if — should he make good on those expectations and one day become World Champion — he starts to build up a car collection of his own.