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F1 fans online expressed their surprise after Mercedes driver George Russell appeared with a new look in the holiday season. In a picture shared on Instagram, the 26-year-old sported a stubble beard on his face, and fans expressed shock and amazement in the comment section.
After a challenging 2024 season, Russell is enjoying the off-season as he spends some quality time with his girlfriend Carmen Mundt. The Brit finished P6 in the world championship standings with 245 points, 22 points ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton.
He won the Austria Grand Prix to mark his season's first victory before another P1 finish at Belgium was overruled due to disqualification. To cap off the 2024 season, the Brit won the Las Vegas Grand Prix as Mercedes secured a double podium finish. As a crucial 2025 season approaches, Russell went on a holiday with his girlfriend Mundt.
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Earlier this week, he went skiing to experience it for the first time in his life. This week, the couple celebrated Christmas together. Russell and Carmen shared a joint post on Instagram to extend holiday greetings to his fans.
"Happy Christmas, all"
However, fans seemed to be interested in the 26-year-old's stubble, as Russell has not been spotted with a beard in the public eye before. One fan wrote:
"George with a beard????"
Another fan said:
"GEORGE WITH A BEARD PAUSE HOLD IT THERE KEEP IT"
"Kinda like that beard look," said a fan.
"GEORGE CAN GROW BEARD???" expressed a fan.
"okay, GET THIS MAN A RAZOR FOR CHRISTMAS I GUESS???" another user wrote.
"Man, shave your beard plz," a user opined.
Mercedes will see a change in the driver's lineup for the 2025 F1 season. After 11 years, Lewis Hamilton has left the squad to join rival team Ferrari. As a result, the 26-year-old will have a new teammate in Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is an 18-year-old rookie and a junior driver for the Silver Arrows.
George Russell expects equal treatment for Kimi Antonelli
George Russell is set to be Mercedes' lead driver in the 2025 F1 season as Lewis Hamilton left for Ferrari. He will mentor Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is yet to make his race debut in F1. However, irrespective of the age and experience gap, the Brit expects the rookie to have an equal voice in development feedback. He said (via motorsportweek):
"Kimi’s new. He’s fresh. And I’m sure he’s going to have a lot of great ideas to bring to the table. I am the more experienced, but we will both get equal voices the same way, and we will both equally contribute towards the development the same way as it was with Lewis and I," Russell said.
He recalled his debut with Mercedes, where he and Hamilton were heard equally despite the gap in experience and on-track success.
"I think, let’s say, in Lewis, in my case, it was never that Lewis had a stronger voice. The team listened to us both equally because both of our opinions were extremely important. And the same going into next year," he added.
Kimi Antonelli turned 18 this year in August and attained a super license to be eligible to drive an F1 car. He debuted in the FP1 session in Monza only to crash within the first 10 minutes of the session.
