George Russell revealed that he even talked with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff about making a bold attempt involving a Formula 1 car on the iconic Nordschleife-Nurburgring circuit, which is over 20 km long. The British driver stated that he considered breaking the absolute lap record on the legendary German track.
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The Brit admitted that racing at the Nordschleife is a personal desire for the future and highlighted his admiration for the circuit. The idea gained momentum after the growing interest of Formula 1 drivers in endurance races on the German layout, especially following Max Verstappen’s appearances at the venue.
Russell said he has driven at the Nordschleife before and also has extensive virtual experience on the circuit: “I watched Max’s race at Nurburgring. The Nordschleife is something I would love to do one day, without a doubt. I have driven there before and also done hundreds of laps on the simulator,” he said in an interview with the press.
The Mercedes driver then revealed that he tried to convince Toto Wolff about a possible push with a Formula 1 car to attack the track’s historic record. Currently, the best time belongs to Timo Bernhard, who recorded 5min19s546 with the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo in 2018.
“I once tried to have a conversation with Toto about putting a Formula 1 car there to break the absolute track record,” Russell said. Despite the enthusiasm, the Brit did not reveal details about why the project did not move forward.
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The recent interest of drivers in the category for the Nordschleife has grown even more in recent months. Besides Verstappen, Kimi Antonelli recently revealed that he wants to obtain the necessary license this year to compete in the GT3 class on the German circuit.
Even showing excitement about the possibility of racing at Nurburgring in the future, Russell made it clear that his current priority remains Formula 1. The Brit said he is fully focused on the fight for the world title before thinking about other challenges outside the category.
“Right now I’m focused on trying to win a Formula 1 world championship. I hope that when I have four titles on my resume, I can race at the Nordschleife during my F1 season as well,” the Mercedes driver concluded laughing.
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