Three friends bonded by the track, George Russell, Lando Norris and Alex Albon have become leading players of Formula 1’s next-generation drivers. We invite the trio to talk past glories, present predicaments and future world titles.

In late August 2018, George Russell arrived at the Belgian Grand Prix weekend with a reduced advantage in the Formula 2 drivers’ championship. His closest two rivals – Lando Norris and Alex Albon – were 12 and 30 points adrift respectively, with the latter having won two of the previous four races.

But as we gather the trio together to reflect on just how much their lives have changed in the five years since, Russell refutes that he was under threat. “Fighting is a strong word!” he says. “We were competing against each other…”

As strange as it might seem now for three such impressive and established Formula 1 talents, this was a pivotal time in their respective careers. There were no guarantees of future progress, not just because of their own results but also the need for openings to appear on the F1 grid.

Now, as they sit in front of a grey and dank Spa-Francorchamps and both Russell and Norris close in on 100 grand prix starts, it’s Albon who finds himself in a somewhat similar position to 2018.

“I think going into that year, there was so much hype for both of you,” Albon recalls. “I remember just from someone who wasn’t in that hype. I was like, ‘OK, these boys are clearly big dogs.’ And then Bahrain, you guys qualified first and second – I was third, actually – and I was a little bit like, ‘Ooh, if it starts off like this, this is not good!’”

Not that there isn’t hype around Albon – who is a little over 20 starts behind his compatriots after a season without a race seat – based on his performances for Williams, but Russell and Norris have both been able to enjoy more competitive cars in recent seasons, and with it the additional limelight that comes in tow.

Even back in F2, Russell was already being spoken about as the next big thing at Mercedes. It’s a prediction that has come true as he looks more than comfortable in his surroundings, leaning back in his chair at the top of the team’s motorhome, addressing the two drivers he calls friends as well as rivals. But he insists he wasn’t paying attention to the talk at the time.

“I don’t know how you felt but I wasn’t really thinking about F1 that much,” he says. “It was kind of just driving and see what happens…”

“I was only thinking about F1,” McLaren driver Norris jokes.

“Yeah, that’s why you didn’t win the championship!” comes Russell’s reply. “Dreams too big. He’s already thinking years ahead! We live in the moment.”

“I guess there was always a little bit of nerves,” Norris admits. “Were you doing FP1s at the time? I was doing a few FP1s.”

“Well for you it was like you were the McLaren golden boy,” says Russell. “You still are! It was a guarantee.”

In reality, both admit they were all-but-assured of F1 seats by their performances even by the time the F2 season had reached Belgium, with Norris signing for McLaren in Monza the following week, and Russell putting pen to paper on a Williams deal in Sochi at the end of the same month. But for Albon it was a different story.

“I signed in Barcelona winter testing the year after!” he laughs.

Rising through the junior ranks the goals were clear for each driver: fight for wins and championships, and keep working your way through the categories quickly. Their paths converged in that 2018 season as Norris took the first win of the year before Russell surged clear to win the title in Abu Dhabi while Albon secured third.

But then those paths split again with the F2 champion getting the least competitive F1 ride at Williams, leading to a concession that there were some jealous glances at the results the other two could target.

“Yeaaaaaah, a little bit!” Russell admits. “Especially this guy straight in,” he says, pointing to Albon. “Alex just came through like full Randy Orton [American professional wrestler] out of nowhere, straight into Red Bull, and I’m thinking ‘Whoa, what is going on here?’ I remember the first race getting lapped three times, qualifying three and a half seconds off pole in Australia. It was definitely frustrating. But equally, I think as much as you were enjoying getting in the points week in, week out, you probably weren’t satisfied either.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re never satisfied,” Norris agrees.

“Unless you’re winning championships,” says Russell. “And now Max [Verstappen], he’s probably not satisfied…”

“I think he’s very satisfied!” says Norris.

“I think his bank account is satisfied as well!” Albon adds.

“But you know what I mean. You always want more. Basically, I look at Lewis [Hamilton] as an example. He wants more than seven championships.”

“That’s just greedy,” says Norris

“Yeah, that’s just not cool is it?” Russell smiles. “But you know what I mean? So I was a bit frustrated, but equally until we’re winning it’s sort of the same for everyone.”

“But you’re still happy to be racing in F1?” asks Norris.

“Yeah, you’re grateful for that,” Russell nods. “But then you’re on to the next one, you want more. As we will do now, I guess.”

Gathering these three together always has the potential for chaos, and certainly for a lack of sincerity. But for every time that there’s a joke to be had – and rarely are those missed – there is also a consensus along more serious lines.

It shouldn’t really be surprising when you reflect on what the trio have all achieved behind the wheel this season alone, but the ease in which they can exude respect for each other in the same breath as aiming a cheap shot feels unique.

One such example comes when Russell asks for the uppermost high of their respective F1 journeys to date and suggests 2021’s Russian Grand Prix to Norris, in reference to the painful decision to stay out on track on slick tyres for the final laps as rain hit.

It’s a call that robbed him of being the first of the three to win, but Norris instantly reminds both of the fact he was on pole position for that very race, too, jogging Russell’s memory that he had secured a stunning third on the grid for Williams in the same session. “We were P1 and P3!” he beams, before absently asking Albon: “And where were you that day?”

“I wasn’t racing!”

They can laugh now, but the fact it is becoming harder to remember that there was a gap in Albon’s F1 career is also testament to the resilience he has shown yet again in fighting back. He’d signed a Formula E deal believing his F1 dream was never going to come true before Toro Rosso called, and then endured the Red Bull spin cycle. If I was talking to them three years after their F2 battle, Albon wouldn’t be on the grid.

“There’s a few lows,” he admits. “Twenty twenty-one, literally the first race, just watching everyone else race. Watching you guys drive in Bahrain, I was like, ‘This is going to be a long year,’ because I was out and I wasn’t racing.”

It was such a swift fall from the highlight he picks out of his debut Red Bull race, right here at Spa in 2019, pulling off numerous overtakes that even Russell can recall. Around the outside of Daniel Ricciardo, and then on the grass against Sergio Pérez on the final lap come to his mind, as Albon climbed from P17 to P5.

But perhaps that fall was not as swift as Norris’s hero-to-zero weekend in Russia. At least the 23-year-old can console himself with some results achieved in a style that the others are envious of.

“I think Silverstone [2023; finished second], or that first podium in 2020,” Norris highlights. “It was the initial race after Covid, Austria, fastest lap, last lap, strategy seven, overtake… That was a cool one.”

“Yeah that was pretty Tom Cruise,” Russell says of the finish that featured Norris getting within the required five seconds of Hamilton, who ironically had been penalised for hitting Albon after a spell of safety car periods originally triggered by Russell’s retirement on lap 50.

“Basically, I look at Lewis as an example. He wants more than seven championships”

The compliment might be driven by a pang of guilt for bringing up such a low point earlier. But with that chance in Sochi slipping away from the McLaren driver and Albon not picking up a win at Red Bull, it was Russell – having begun with the least competitive car – who was the first to step onto the middle of the podium and hear the British anthem play, in Brazil last year.

That was a moment that moved him to tears, as did his first points as a Williams driver in Hungary 2021. You might have thought he’d recall his maiden points during the dramatic Sakhir Grand Prix in 2020 – when he deputised for an unwell Hamilton but was robbed of the win by a Mercedes pitstop error – as his toughest moment given the very public image of him reflecting on a stunning victory slipping away, but something more private stands out.

“The one I was probably most pissed off about was Hockenheim, 2019, where all year Robert [Kubica] and I finished last and second last. I beat him I think in like 19 out of 21 races, or maybe a bit less, but I made a mistake with five laps to go. He did me, fine. We finished 12th and 13th.

“‘All right, no biggie, he’s finished 12th.’ And then two cars get disqualified, like,’What is that?!’ So then I get a phone call – it was actually from James Vowles to say, ‘Oh, well done, you just scored your first point!’ I was like, ‘No no no, Robert beat me.’ I don’t know if he was trying to mess with me…”

Having worked with Vowles throughout his Mercedes career to this stage, Russell has now seen the former strategy director head to join Albon at Williams as he takes on the role of team principal.

But it’s Russell who appears to be the leader in this scenario. Perhaps buoyed by the fact we started with his F2 title, or the location within the Mercedes motorhome, it’s the middle of the three in terms of age who is orchestrating proceedings.

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Alex Albon podcast:

George Russell podcast:

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Another reason for that could be the 25-year-old’s place at the team that dominated F1 until Red Bull’s recent return to power. Despite being two years his senior, Albon certainly sees Russell as most likely to win a championship first.

“Depends where Lando signs to!” Albon teases. “I reckon it has to be you, George. You’re in a bit of a dip right now, the team. Oh, I feel bad saying that as we’re here in Mercedes hospitality…”

“I take pride that you say we’re in a dip yet we’re still P2 in the championship!” comes the response from Russell. “Mate, we’re 40 points ahead of P3.”

“Lewis must be doing such a good job!” Albon jokes.

“To be fair he is well ahead of me in the championship this year,” says Russell. “But I think Formula 1’s… so unpredictable. At the start of this year, no one would have said Aston Martin would have been so quick, and with you guys [McLaren] so slow, and then suddenly, that’s just reversed from nowhere.”

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George Russell

Racing hero Ayrton Senna
Born February 15, 1998
Began karting Age 6
Previous championships 3 (2014 Formula 4, 2017 GP3 and 2018 Formula 2)
Hobbies Russell is a keen cyclist and has been on several cycling trips with Alex Albon.
Trivia George’s older brother Benjy was a national and world karting champion and George also credits his brother for racing as No63 – it’s the family racing number.

Lando Norris

Racing hero Valentino Rossi
Born November 13, 1999
Began karting Age 7
Previous Championships 5 (2015 MSA Formula Championship, 2016 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, 2016 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC, 2016 Toyota Racing Series and 2017 European F3)
Hobbies Founder of the Quadrant esports team and regularly streams himself playing videogames on Twitch.
Trivia Lando tried his hand at horse riding, quad biking and motor cross before finally getting hooked on karting.

Alex Albon

Racing hero Michael Schumacher
Born March 23, 1996
Began karting Age 8
Previous Championships 0
Hobbies Alex, along with his four siblings, runs an Instagram account for their large number of pets including eight cats, one dog and even a horse.
Trivia Alex has survived being dropped by Red Bull not once but twice. Firstly, in his junior career and then again at the end of 2020.

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Norris now finds himself in a car – the much-improved MCL60 – that was capable of delivering back-to-back second places at Silverstone and the Hungaroring, and admits he expects his chances of picking up silverware to continue. To that end, he feels fortunate in the opportunities he’s had, at least compared to Albon.

“Alex has probably had it hardest,” Norris states. “I don’t think I’ve had it harder,” Albon suggests. “I just think that I’ve been under more pressure for longer.”

Albon can certainly claim as much even through his junior career, as without a Formula 1 team’s backing his final F2 season began without the budget to complete it. But it hardened him in a different way, and the Red Bull experience has played a role in the more rounded driver who has been consistently delivering eye-catching performances at Williams.

Russell had to do the same to prove himself to Mercedes, but it did lead to a race-winning seat at one of the sport’s top teams, while Norris is the only one of the three to call one team home throughout his Formula 1 career to date.

So after taking such different routes through the years since they were competing for that F2 title five years ago, who was the best driver entering Formula 1? And who is the best now?

“I hate these type of questions, because you sound so arrogant,” Russell begins.

“But…” comes an interjection from the three in unison.

“No but it’s true,” Russell continues. “None of us get a chance to really compare – like if we’re all in a McLaren probably Lando would be the quickest, if we’re all in a Mercedes probably I would be the quickest and if we’re all in a Williams, it would probably be Alex.”

“You never truly know until you’re team-mates – so maybe we need a three-car team!” Norris suggests.

“You haven’t had a Williams drive yet,” Russell says to Norris. “You might be at home in a Williams…”

“All to Williams!” Norris calls out.

Now that would be a shock. But then all three racing drivers have recent histories that show just how unpredictable the world of Formula 1 can be.

Rewind the clock five years and even if it was Nyck de Vries and Nicholas Latifi who took the F2 wins that weekend at Spa, you’d have been given pretty long odds on there being just a solitary F1 world championship victory among Russell, Norris and Albon come today.

You might well have got even longer odds on their friendship having endured the rigours and spotlight of F1 in the way it has; if anything, it has grown for Russell and Norris, the pair having rarely gone head-to-head prior to F2.

There’s no doubt that more victories are on the cards over the next five years. And even if that ratchets up the pressure, something tells us there will be just as many laughs reflecting on it all then, too.

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What do points make?

Prizes! Here are the hard stats of the drivers’ F1 careers so far

* Statistics taken up to and including 2023 Belgian GP