09 February 2023 , 18:05
1066
0
George Russell sought the help of a psychologist after experiencing a "very low point" in his Formula 1 career, the Mercedes racer has revealed.
The Brit is one of the young stars of the grid. Last year he stepped up to Mercedes and performed admirably across the campaign – even beating seven-time world champion team-mate Lewis Hamilton and securing his first F1 race victory.
But for all the high points in his racing career so far, there have also been challenges. The Mercedes racer admits to not always having paid too much attention to his mental health, and only really began to take it seriously after starting to struggle.
"I haven't always been into my mental health. I only started getting into it about a year and a half, two years ago, when I started to speak with a psychologist, mainly for my on-track personal performance," he told Men's Health.
That change was prompted by a specific incident, when racing for Williams, which had more of a lasting impact upon him that he would have imagined. Russell added: "The moment when I thought I need to seek some professional help, I had a really difficult race. I had a crash – it was a very low point in my career.
Sebastian Vettel warns of looming F1 ban and is "very worried about the future"
"I thought I could just pick myself up from that moment and I was picking myself up, but we decided to speak with a professional. And I was so grateful that I was advised to do that.
Russell won his first F1 race in 2022, and wants to add to that total this year (Andre Penner/AP/REX/Shutterstock)"I came away from that conversation and that meeting with him feeling so much better about myself, and put those negatives to the side, lifted myself up, and I was ready to attack the rest of the day and the rest of the week.
"It was only through those conversations that I felt like this is giving me more than just the on-track benefits. I'm coming away from these sessions feeling better about myself, feeling like there had been a weight lifted off my shoulders."
Russell is now encouraging other men to pay more attention to their own mental health. "We all have our moments where we are feeling a bit down, a little bit low but even when we are not, I think talking to somebody to almost have this mental maintenance just to keep ticking over, to keep in that positive place, is so important."