Reigning GP3 Series Champion George Russell will share the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport Formula One Reserve Driver role with Pascal Wehrlein in the 2018 season, combining with his FIA F2 Championship campaign with ART Grand Prix to bring him another step closer to the dream of racing in Formula One.

Russell (20) was signed as a Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Junior Driver in 2017 and met all expectations when he stormed to the 2017 GP3 Series Championship Title, while playing an important role in the Mercedes team’s 2018 Formula One World Championship success through his work in the simulator.

He went on to impress further during two Free Practice outings during Grands Prix weekends with the Force India team in Brazil and Abu Dhabi to round out an excellent 2017 campaign.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport "We will see how George is going to go in F2.
He does a brilliant job for us in the simulator, he has met our expectations in winning the GP3 title, Force India is very impressed by him. F2 is the next step.
We're keen to see how he's going to perform."

Russell’s main focus for this year is the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship – the main feeder series to the Formula One World Championship.

Pre-season testing begins next month at Paul Ricard, as Russell and team ART Grand Prix prepare for the new season in brand new Dallara F2/18 machinery.

George Russell “After joining the Mercedes-Benz Junior program at the start of 2017 and testing the World Championship winning W08 in Budapest, I am extremely pleased to be progressing into the Reserve Driver role. 
Increasing my involvement within the team is a really exciting time for me. Getting to know the ins and outs even more of how World Champions work will only develop me further as a driver.
I'm really looking forward to spending more time with the team during the 2018 season and hopefully getting behind the wheel of the W09 at some point."

Russell will next be in racing action for the FIA Formula 2 season opener in Sakhir, Bahrain, on 6-8 April, for the first race of the extended twelve-round 2018 Calendar. 

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Quotes: Courtesy of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport

Images: Courtesy of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport