Approaching a psychologist helped me become stronger, says George Russell

George Russell has termed seeking professional help with regard to mental health as a “great step” in his development as a driver. Russell is heading into his third season with Williams, having faced quite some adversity in the 2019 and 2020 Formula 1 editions. The 23-year-old failed to score a point for the team in the previous seasons. Interestingly, he could have well registered a debut victory at Sakhir in 2020 having stepped in for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. However, pit stop problems and a late puncture pushed him down the order. Russell decided to seek the services of a psychologist in dealing with these disappointments ahead of the 2021 Formula 1 season. This decision has strengthened him mentally as explained while interacting with British newspaper The I.

“I’m feeling stronger and stronger about this, the more time goes on and since I’ve also had these difficult moments and learnt that talking about it to the right person… obviously talking to your family and friends is all well and good but getting professional advice was really important,” he said as quoted by the official website of Formula 1.

The 23-year-old further discussed the stigma surrounding psychology, elaborating on the importance of seeking professional help when necessary.

“I think so many people, men particularly, see psychology as a weakness, which is absolutely not the case. Your mind is the most powerful tool in your body,” he said.

Finishing Second Blessing In Disguise

The British racer termed finishing second in the Sakhir Grand Prix as an experience that had taught him a few lessons.

“If I want to win races and championships, I can’t let those difficult moments dwell on me. I qualified second in the Sakhir Grand Prix. And I was disappointed. My best qualifying position until that point was P12, which I was absolutely ecstatic about, and then I’d just qualified second and I was disappointed,” stated the 23-year-old.

“And that also taught me that fighting for championships and victories in the future is going to be mentally much tougher than what I had to endure finishing at the back of the grid for the last two years,” he added.

“So those experiences have been a blessing in disguise, I think in the long term, 10, 15 years I’ll look back and I’ll say, ‘I wouldn’t change any of those for the world,” concluded Russell.