Mercedes Formula 1 driver George Russell has opened up about his engagement to his long-term partner Carmen Montero Mundt.
The Briton announced his engagement during the summer break alongside photos of the special moment at a candlelit, beachfront dinner.
Appearing in the drivers’ press conference ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, Russell was warmly congratulated before he shared some insight into the preparation that went into the proposal.
“It was very special, and it was a really, really nice time to do it. A lot of thought went into it, and it was a really interesting process, designing the ring and doing all of that,” Russell explained.
“When I came to the moment, I couldn’t actually get my words out. It was like suddenly I got really nervous when I was on one knee, but that was great, so thank you.”
Russell added that he was able to fully switch off from F1 before heading back into what will surely be an intense title fight for him. After the first half of the season, the 28-year-old sits third in the drivers’ standings, 59 points behind his team-mate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli and nine points behind second-placed Lewis Hamilton.
“Yeah, fully, to be honest,” he said when asked if he was able to switch off. “Especially coming into the second half of the season now, it’s going to be very intense for us all, so just really making the most of those two weeks and obviously I had that on my mind for the first 10 days of the break, so that was great.”
The Mercedes driver joked that he hopes the engagement can bring him a couple of tenths’ advantage on the race track.
“I hope it brings a couple of tenths. Even Lando [Norris] will be getting engaged if it brings a couple of tenths,” he laughed.
“Personal life is so important. I think for all of us, we live such a hectic life. The people we live it with are such a key part of that, and riding those emotions with you. And I obviously have been with Carmen for a really long time.
“I don’t think it changes a huge amount because she’s been such an important person in my life for so long. So, it was just more about making that next step that we needed to do.”
