Leclerc, Norris and Russell: rise of F1's 'golden generation' profiled in new bios

This summer brings three new F1 biographies for your beach reading, recounting the careers so far of Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and George Russell.

Commonly seen as world champions in waiting — given the right equipment, each shows how their talent shone at a young age, as they rocketed up the racing ladder.

Not that talent alone is normally enough to get to grand prix racing: the three drivers have also shown their dedication and tenacity, while benefitting from their share of good fortune as unknowns with dreams of the big time.

That’s illustrated in the snapshots below, taken from George Russell — by James Gray, Lando Norris — by Ben Hunt, and Charles Leclerc — by Adam Hay-Nicholls.

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Zak Brown was already managing Norris when he was announced as a McLaren driver

Since 2011, Norris’s career had been looked after by former racers Mark Berryman and Fraser Sheader, the latter a former karting rival of Lewis Hamilton. Under the guidance of their ADD Management group, the young Brit had shot up the ranks – but they needed someone with a little more paddock kudos to keep progressing.

“We knew we needed some commercial depth, so we brought in Zak – it was more about perception,” says Sheader. “I explained how he could help us, plus we said we thought Lando was pretty handy – it was an ideal scenario.”

Brown clearly thought so too: within a year he was CEO of the McLaren Group, and Norris was signed up as one of its juniors, set on a path to F1 stardom.

 

Russell’s home advantage

The young George Russell’s career began at the Paul Fletcher International (PFI) karting circuit in Brandon, Lincolnshire. He began learning his craft there on Saturday afternoons, and the knowledge paid off for his first big win at the 2008 Kartmasters British Grand Prix.

“He slipped to fourth on the opening lap, but George had shown all week he could overtake; he started his first heat 16th and won it by nearly 5sec,” writes Gray. “Sure enough, he hit the front after seven laps, a lead he never relinquished.”

 

Leclerc wasn’t allowed into Maranello the first time he visited Ferrari

Although he may currently be the face of Italy’s most famous sporting outfit, the first time Leclerc visited Ferrari’s fabled Maranello factory he couldn’t make it past the front door. Charles was only eleven years old on this occasion, brought along by his godfather Jules Bianchi who at the time was the first driver to sign for the new Ferrari Driver Academy. “I sat in the car park for two hours,” he says. “Trying to guess what it was like inside. I imagined Charlie and the Chocolate Factory y’know? With Oompa Loompas running around!”

 

Powerpoint loses its sparkle for Russell

Russell famously attributes his spot on the Mercedes Junior programme to a PowerPoint presentation to Toto Wolff. But the technique of presenting his driving stats and results didn’t always work immediately.

Following his victory in the GP3 championship, George met with Williams’ Paddy Lowe and took him through his carefully curated slides, showing why he should be given a drive the following year. But the team wasn’t convinced he was ready, and Russell headed to F2 — winning the title in his debut year.

 

Norris refused advice as a young karter

“Lando was very quiet [at 11 years old, when they met] and for at least the first nine months didn’t listen to a word I said,” recalls Berryman. “His dad was pleased because he was winning loads, but he [Lando] wasn’t listening.