GEORGE RUSSELL has revealed he lost more than £100,000 during his first season in Formula 1.
The Mercedes driver, 26, is now the joint-fifth highest earning driver on the grid, raking in £14million per year.
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But prior to his move to Mercedes in 2022, he spent three seasons with Williams.
The Brit’s debut year in the sport – 2019 – saw him finish 20th in the drivers’ standings without a point.
And he has now opened up about the tiny base salary he was earning at that time.
Russell was discussing new regulations which mean offences such as crossing the track could now carry fines of up to €1million – a significant increase on the €50,000 punishment Lewis Hamilton received last season.
Speaking as the chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, Russell said: “I think it’s pretty ridiculous that a driver could be fined €1m.
“In my first year of F1, I was on a five-figure salary and actually lost over six figures in that first year from paying for my trainer, paying for flights, paying for an assistant.
“And that’s probably the case for 25 per cent of the grid.
“We’re doing what we love, so we’re not complaining about that.
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“But if you take a year one driver who probably by the end of the year is losing over €100,000 because of the investments he has to make, you fine them a million, what’s going to happen?”
Williams were in a dire financial position in 2019, before Claire Williams sold the team to Dorilton Capital the following year.
Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto are their current drivers, but Carlos Sainz is leaving Ferrari to join Williams to complete their 2025 line-up.
Meanwhile, Russell sits seventh in the drivers’ championship, 12 points behind team-mate Hamilton.
He has one victory in 2024 and was stripped of another after his car was found to be underweight during a post-race inspection.
Next season, he will have a change of team-mates when Andrea Kimi Antonelli, 18, replaces Hamilton as the seven-time champion joins Ferrari.
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