George Russell swaps F1 seat for 'experience of a lifetime' in a Typhoon fighter jet
Formula 1 star George Russell praised his "experience of a lifetime" as he had the chance to fly in a Typhoon fighter jet.
Ahead of the 2023 British Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver visited RAF Coningsby, in Lincolnshire, to meet the "dedicated" RAF Typhoon team that safely secures the airspace around and above the UK.
Russell said on Twitter: "Seeing the teamwork, camaraderie and skillset within the whole of the RAF, I truly understand why it's such an honour to work for the Royal Air Force."
The British F1 driver, who is very used to high-speed thrills, added: "Thank you so much for the opportunity, for teaching me a huge amount and, of course, for the ride!!"
The RAF took to Twitter to share their joy and "honour" at having Russell experience a Typhoon aircraft first-hand.
They said: "A real honour to show George Russell how teamwork and fantastic engineering are crucial to both the RAF and Mercedes AMG F1 Team #NoOrdinaryJob."
'So many crossovers'
This weekend, the driver can be seen taking to the skies with the RAF during the Sky Sports F1 coverage.
Sky F1's commentator Ted Kravitz joined Russell at RAF Coningsby, and asked the F1 driver if he saw any parallels between flying a Typhoon and driving an F1 car.
Kravitz said: "(To George) You've got a huge mental capacity, you've got to know what's going on with your tyres, with your opponents, with the strategy, with any weather that's coming in.
"Could you see any parallels there, as well?"
George, in response, said: "So many. For those guys up there, you need to have that mental capacity, you need to be able to control the machine, do it to the best of your ability.
"But then looking where the others are, kind of like we are looking in our mirrors or understand what the tyres are doing."
The British F1 driver added: "Having a global picture of the race, so many crossovers."
Fellow British Formula 1 driver Lando Norris was in his "pilot era" last year when he teamed up with the Red Arrows ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
McLaren shared a photo of their driver in the cockpit of one of the Red Arrows' jets and their green coveralls ahead of the F1 finale last year.
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