25-year-old F1 driver admits he has to get permission from team boss to go skiing this winter

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Mercedes driver George Russell has admitted he still needs to ask team principal Toto Wolff whether he’s allowed to go skiing this winter.

Russell was speaking to Motorsport Magazine off the back of a frustrating campaign in 2023.

The 25-year-old came into this season in good form and full of confidence.

He had finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship during his first season at the team which is hugely impressive.

However, he struggled to string together a complete weekend of performances, either struggling in qualifying or the race itself in a car that was incredibly difficult to drive.

Hamilton showed his quality this year, challenging Sergio Perez in a superior Red Bull for much of the season.

Work is already being done behind the scenes at Mercedes to be in a better place for 2024.

The drivers will want to put this year behind them as quickly as possible and find a way to unwind before another intense season begins.

George Russell has admitted he now needs to ask Mercedes boss Toto Wolff if he can go skiing this winter.

The Austrian has other things to worry about right now after a conflict of interests complaint was lodged this week.

However, considering his teammate isn’t exactly shy when it comes to extreme sports, outside of F1, the young Brit should be fine to do as he pleases.

Russell admits needing to ask Mercedes boss about skiing this winter

Talking about what he’s going to do in the off-season, Russell said: “I still need to ask Toto’s permission, but I really want to ski. I’m not too sure if I’m going to be given that permission or not.

“But I’ve always said I’m always sensible when it comes to sport outside of racing because I get my adrenaline rush from racing.

“So I don’t need to go down a ski slope flat out or even when I’m training on my bike, I put a 55km/h limit on it, because I’d be in Lanzarote, I’d be head down going down a massive hill going 85km/h and I just thought, ‘this is just stupid’.

“The adrenaline rush was massive, but I don’t need that, because I get it 25 weekends a year. And the risk was too great.

“So I think I know my boundaries. There’s always going to be danger in everything. I could wrap myself in bubble wrap but fall down the stairs and break a leg.

“I just want to do something that you’ve got to put fun focus into that activity.”

Formula 1 drivers are no strangers to picking up injuries away from the track in recent years.

Lance Stroll infamously nearly missed the start of last season after injuring both of his wrists in a cycling accident.

Mercedes star Russell has admitted that speed isn’t his main priority when skiing on the slopes.

While he may need to be careful this winter, he’ll know he needs to be driving at full throttle once testing begins in February.