George Russell is quickly shaping up to be one of the hottest talents in modern Formula 1 thanks to his insane performance – and when you see the insane training he does, you’ll understand why.
The 24-year-old Englishman, who joined top-flight team Mercedes this year, has comprehensively stamped his authority on the team. We’re halfway through the 2022 F1 season and Russell is 4th in the championship, having not dipped lower than 5th every race this season – with teammate and seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton sitting at 6th.
‘Mr. Consistent’ isn’t resting on his laurels, though. While he did enjoy some downtime in Mallorca during the F1 break – getting a nice tan in the process – he’s also been hard at work in the gym, with the affable Pom showing off a frightening-looking neck workout that’s had us reaching for a pack of Advil.
“So the plan today is to hang 30kg from your head,” Russell joked – and that’s exactly what he did, with his trainer literally strapping a bunch of weights to a head harness and spotting Russell while he lifts the weights with his head alone while planking. Mental stuff.
WATCH George Russell’s neck workout below.
This exercise looks barbaric (and borderline dangerous) but it’s actually very necessary for Russell. The insane speed and braking power of F1 cars subject drivers to enormous g-forces – around 5 g while braking, 2 g while accelerating, and between 4 to 6 g while cornering.
For comparison, the average rollercoaster might expose you to 3 g of force, and most untrained humans will pass out between 4 and 6 g – which is why F1 drivers track their necks so aggressively. Indeed, F1 drivers use a lot of specialised equipment that simulates the physical stresses of driving in order to train, as Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly demonstrate here.
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Clearly, the workout is paying off for Russell, who keeps his neck remarkably straight despite the hefty 30kg of weight hanging from his head. Russell’s fans were suitably impressed, commenting “and people still say F1 isn’t a sport”…
The 2022 Formula 1 World Championship resumes this weekend with the Belgian Grand Prix, with lights out scheduled for 11pm AEST on Sunday, 28th August.
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