George Russell to Time Travel Almost 100 Years in the Past to Celebrate Mercedes’ History

Formula One F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – November 26, 2023 Mercedes’ George Russell celebrates after finishing third in the race Pool via REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
The Targa Florio, the world’s oldest motorsport racing event began in 1906 – in 1924, Mercedes took their first win in the prestigious Grand Prix. This year marks 100 years since Mercedes’ maiden win in racing and the manufacturers have a solid plan to celebrate. Mercedes has decided to celebrate the event with an extravagant joyride for George Russell. But why Russell you may ask?
With Lewis Hamilton leaving the team, George Russell is the face of the F1 team. Currently out driving the 7-time world champion, he is the driver that Toto Wolff has all his faith in. So, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Targa Florio win, they offer him a chance to drive one of the original participating cars from the iconic race.
George Russell will take a piece of Mercedes history for a drive
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George Russell will get behind the wheel of one of the original participating cars from the Targa Florio on 15th May. Not only will he drive around the two-litre machine that the Mercedes-Benz Classic restored for the drive, but he will also be driving it to collect this year’s Trofeo Bandini Award.
To mark a century of this iconic race, a public road endurance race will be held in the mountains of Sicily, Italy where this race began near the start of the 20th century. As for the iconic car, Mercedes-Benz Classic decided to rebuild the “original 2-litre Targa Florio car” from the company’s own collection to give it a 100% authentic touch.
Russell will be celebrating a history win, by picking up a trophy for himself too, as the Trofeo Bandini Award will be granted to the British driver. To attend the event, the man from King’s Lynn will drive the history single-seater from Faenza to Brisighella in the Emilia-Romagna region of the country.
While George Russell will not get to drive the race-winning car driven by Christian Werner as that has not survived, he gets to drive his teammate, Christian Lautenschlager car who completed the endurance race in 1924.
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What did George Russell have to say about getting to drive the historic car?
On having the privilege of driving the car George Russell said: “Mercedes-Benz has an incredible history in motorsport. Since joining the team back in 2017, I’ve enjoyed learning more about it including visiting the museum and ‘Holy Halls’ in Stuttgart. When the opportunity came up to drive one of the most iconic cars from the company’s history, I jumped at it.”
via Reuters Formula One F1 – Pre-Season Testing – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – February 21, 2024 Mercedes’ George Russell during the pre-season testing REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
The 26-year-old Mercedes driver said, “I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the Mercedes 2-litre Targa Florio race car and get a sense of what the finest drivers of 100 years ago went through. The restoration by Mercedes-Benz Classic is second-to-none, as always.”
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With that said, would you rather have Lewis Hamilton drive Lautenschlager’s car? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.