There can’t be many 27-year-old’s living the high life like George Russell this year.
The British Formula One star is entering his prime, is building a sponsorship empire, travels the world with glamourous girlfriend Carmen Montero Mundt and is closing in on a new Mercedes deal worth an eye-watering £30m-a-year.
There had been some nagging doubts about his future with the constructor but Russell is set for a bumper payday, more than doubling his current £12m-a-year package.
As Mail Sport’s Jonathan McEvoy exclusively revealed this week, negotiations have accelerated over the last few weeks and a source close to the talks confirmed: ‘All the main points have been agreed.’
Russell’s incoming raise will remain well short of Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton – each on about £60m a year.
While he does not yet have the achievements or global fanbase to garner such earnings, his win in Canada and domination over team-mate Kimi Antonelli this season point to his consistent form.
He is delivering off the track, too. Russell is extremely marketable and has brands queuing up to represent them.
His net worth is currently estimated to be in the region of £15m, though clearly that is set to increase substantially in the next few years.
In addition to Mercedes and their high-performance engine division AMG, he has deals with the British Racing Drivers’ Club, Bell Helmets, Alpinestars, MDM Designs and sportswear giant Adidas.
He even has watch company IWC Schaffhausen backing his wristwear options and he’s been seen wearing their Portugieser ‘Obsidian’ model, which can cost up to £41,200.
Russell, a former child karting prodigy who grew up in Norfolk, like many F1 stars, is no stranger to a modelling shoot, either.
He adorned the cover of fashion magazine L’Officiel last October and is sharply dressed at number of society events every year.
Russell has been pictured at Wimbledon rubbing shoulders with the likes of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, always kitted out in his finery.
He was in situ for the final this year, decked out in a tailored double-breasted pin stripe suit alongside girlfriend Mundt.
Mundt has been in a relationship with Russell since 2020 and the couple happily live in Monaco together.
She has previously worked in finance – as an investor relations associate at Ruffer LLP in London – but recently announced that she is going back to studying.
The driver’s very glamorous girlfriend – who is originally from Spain and moved to the UK aged 18 – has a business degree from the University of Westminster.
Carmen has more than 409,000 followers on Instagram, and often shares snaps of her luxury travels and enviable style online.
The couple are understood to have met through friends in London.
‘Five years with the most wonderful person I could ever ask for,’ Mundt wrote on in honour of their anniversary in February this year.
‘Forever proud of who you are and what you do.’
She is impressive in her own right with a bachelor’s degree in business management and finance and a diploma in asset allocation and risk management from the University of Geneva.
When speaking about her work, she previously told followers: ‘I always wanted to work in finance.
‘My family struggled financially during the global crisis and that determined what I wanted to do from a very young age.’
When asked if jetting around the world to watch Russell at races distracted her from her day job, she replied: ‘It takes my head away from work and I enjoy the sport and spending time with him.
‘There’s nothing I enjoy more than G’s success.’ And the driver has described his other half as ‘incredibly supportive’.
‘Last year, for the first time, I experienced some fans booing me on a driver’s parade. I’d never experienced that before’, Russell explained. ‘I talk with the people who I trust and love the most and they offer a huge hand.’
Mundt is also business savvy when it comes to her own affairs and has her own contracts with major brands as an influencer.
He has worked with Dior and Tommy Hilfiger among other luxury companies.
Unsurprisingly, Russell ferries Mundt around in a variety of luxury cars from his collection when they’re jet-setting around the world.
He is very much the company man and recently shared on social media that he had his ‘dream car’.
Russell was spotted crouching next to his new Mercedes AMG ONE, a Formula One inspired hypercar.
It has a top speed of 219mph, goes 0-62mph in 2.9 seconds and holds the record for the fastest lap time for a production car on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Much of the tech in the car is similar or the same as that in an F1 vehicle and only 275 of them were made, all by hand.
Given the tech and exclusivity, it is perhaps no surprise to see the price tag up at a whopping £2.5million.
But Russell has his hands of one now and he’ll add it to his existing fleet of Mercedes.
Russell usually drives a Mercedes-AMG G 63, an off-roader better suited for the British countryside, while he also has an affection for Mini Mokes, which don’t have any roofs or doors.
He recently revealed that he typically uses a Mercedes-AMG C 63 S and washes it by hand himself.
No doubt in the coming years Russell will add to his collection, especially now he’s on the brink of the £30m-a-year deal.
His hard work on the track restarts at the Hungarian GP this weekend and the already bountiful fruits of his labour will continue to grow in the years ahead.
