Logs as weights and old shelving units as a squat rack: How F1 driver George Russell is training from his parents’ Norfolk garage

The Williams driver is having to get creative with his personal trainer, writes Lawrence Ostlere, in order to stay in shape for the hidden demands of Formula One

George Russell: 'The thing I love about racing is the adrenaline' (Getty)

As a child, George Russell was a prodigiously talented racing driver. His name spread through the industry in whispers as trophies stacked up, and recognition soon followed. In 2015 Russell became the youngest ever recruit to the British Racing Drivers’ Club SuperStars scheme after winning their prestigious McLaren Autosport award, and a glamorous career in Formula One seemed an inevitable destiny. On the weekends he would travel around the country beating the very best, yet despite his achievements, back at Wisbech Grammar School his friends were a little harder to impress.

“As a kid my school mates all used to say to me, ‘Driving? My mum does that going to Tesco’,” Russell tells The Independent. “But it’s a bit different in reality. You enter a corner driving 200mph, with 50 or 60 kilos of force going through your head, just on your neck. If you imagine lying on your side and someone plonking 50 kilos on your head and having to hold that, it’s not easy.”

Russell is speaking from his parents’ home; while most F1 drivers are spending lockdown in their Monaco residences, it’s safe to assume the 22-year-old is the only one holing up in rural Norfolk. But amid the chaos of a 2020 F1 calendar facing potential wipeout, he senses some opportunity. The strange circumstances have given Russell the chance to spend longer with his parents and sister than any time since he was 17, and they have given him the time to learn something new: he has been reading books on engineering to sharpen the mechanical side of his racing brain, while he has found a novel way to replace the adrenaline rush. “I’ve been learning to juggle,” he says. “Just three balls so far, but it only took two or three days.”

It’s not all been so relaxed, of course. Russell is having to work hard to stay in shape for F1’s brutal demands. Drivers burn around 1,500 calories tearing round a track and lose around 5kg of weight during an average grand prix. His Williams team has ensured he has a live-in personal trainer in lockdown, and the two of them have got creative around his parents’ home.

“We found some old shelving units around the garage which we turned into a squat rack, and we had to use some logs for weights,” Russell says. “We’ve attached TRX [resistance ropes] to the ceiling in one of the garages; you can use it for so many different things, you can improve and find different ways to use your own body. I was using the kitchen table for some exercises to pull from, so it’s about finding bits in the house which are around you.”

Most important is strengthening neck muscles for the huge forces he endures on the track. “We did a lot of work with the neck harness and often it’s just literally him [Russell’s trainer] pulling and pushing my head to keep it strong. The core is really important, so we do some standard core exercises and some that are a bit more extreme. It’s all about trying to keep your body as still as possible when you’re driving through corners.”

Like much of life right now sport is in limbo, and F1 is no different. The 2020 season was hours away from starting when the Australian Grand Prix was cancelled back in March, and since the day Russell flew home from Melbourne, almost half the calendar has been cancelled. If racing does return at all this year, it will almost certainly be without the many thousands of fans who usually line the track.

It means Russell, who is still finding his way, must do everything he can not let his exceptional talents wane. Fans have tuned in as he and other F1 drivers have competed on an online PlayStation game using a home simulator – seat, steering wheel and pedals in the living room – but it doesn’t quite compare to the real thing, no matter what his school friends might have thought.

“The thing I love about racing is the adrenaline – there’s no feeling like it when you’re pushing a car to its absolute limits, and the buzz after completing a great race is amazing. It’s very demanding and it’s a shame people can’t always appreciate that, but I understand why – because they can’t actually experience it. But just imagine being on the fastest rollercoaster for 90 minutes while trying to drive at the same time. It’s not that easy.”