George Russell landed mega-money Mercedes deal after charming bosses with PowerPoint plan
dailystar.co.ukGeorge Russell will fulfil a childhood dream when he lines up for Mercedes at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday.Russell has replaced Valterri Bottas as Lewis Hamilton’s team-mate at Mercedes for the 2022 season after signing a “long-term” contract with the manufacturer in September.
The 24-year-old has made his name through three impressive seasons with Williams, but his links to Mercedes go way back. The Briton was part of the Mercedes young junior driver programme and had been marked out as a future star long before he stood in for Hamilton when he had Covid at the Sakhir Grand Prix in December 2020.
Russell saw his £1million yearly salary increase to £5m when he signed his Mercedes contract in September, according to The Times.
And when he put pen to paper, Russell made good on a promise he had made to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff way back in 2014. “I’ve had his contract since he was 15 years old,” Wolff explained to Sky Germany two years ago. “He notified me via email that he was in need of advice, told me he had previously won the British karting championship and just become British Formula 4 champion. “He came to my office, all alone in a black suit with a black tie – it must have been his communion suit because it was a bit tight – and a PowerPoint presentation.
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