The GB4 Championship will award the ‘George Russell Pole Position Cup’ in its inaugural season, following an agreement between the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 star and award founder John Cavill.
Russell won both the BRDC F4 Championship (predecessor to GB3) and the Jack Cavill Pole Position Cup during his title-winning campaign in 2014, aged 16-years-old. Having remained in contact with Cavill in the years since his first car racing championship triumph, Russell has agreed to put his name to the equivalent prize in GB4, which will now be known as the George Russell Pole Position Cup.
The George Russell Pole Position Cup will award £125 and a trophy to drivers earning pole positions during each of the eight race weekends in 2022. The driver with the most poles at the end of the season will win a £1,000 cash prize and a commemorative trophy, just as Russell did in 2014, whilst the winning driver’s team will also claim £1,000 and a trophy. The total prize pot for the 2022 George Russell Pole Position Cup will be £4,000.
The Pole Position Cup has been part of MSV’s GB3 Championship since its inaugural season in 2013 (as BRDC F4), and £36,000 in prize money has been handed out to drivers by award founder John Cavill in the nine seasons since. John has extended his support to the GB4 Championship this year, with Russell kindly agreeing to put his name to the first running of the award in MSV’s newest single-seater category.
Following Russell’s graduation from BRDC F4 at the end of 2014, the British driver rapidly ascended the junior single-seater ranks, winning the GP3 title in 2017 and the FIA Formula 2 Championship the following year, taking the most pole positions in those categories too.
His F1 debut came with Williams in 2019, and highlights include Russell’s stunning qualifying performance at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, which opened the door to a maiden podium finish, and his near race-winning debut for Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team at the Sakhir Grand Prix as a substitute in 2020. Widely recognised as one of F1’s most exciting young talents, Russell will race alongside seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2022.
George Russell said: “John Cavill has been very supportive since my earliest days in racing, and he became a familiar face in my BRDC F4 Championship winning season in 2014. He has given his backing to so many young drivers in junior race series, and it is an honour to accept his invitation to lend my support to his initiative in the new GB4 Championship. Winning the BRDC F4 Championship in 2014 was pivotal for my career, I don’t think I’d be where I am today without it, and I’m sure that GB4 will provide the same opportunities I received back then. I look forward to congratulating the 2022 George Russell Pole Position Cup winner at the end of the year!”
Award founder John Cavill said: “It remains a massive privilege to play a part in the GB3 and now GB4 Championships, and I would like to thank Jonathan Palmer for the opportunity to be involved in these two great championships. I’m really pleased that George accepted my invitation to get involved in the Pole Position Cup for GB4. Qualifying has always really excited me and I feel it showcases the fastest driver across each weekend. George was an excellent winner of the award in 2014, and I hope the winner of the George Russell Pole Position Cup will have a good chance of following in his footsteps.”
MSV Chief Executive Jonathan Palmer said: “It’s wonderful that George has teamed up with John to promote his much-valued prize in the GB4 Championship. George was an outstanding BRDC F4 champion in 2014, and he knows all about the importance of great value single-seater racing. He showed how good he was in qualifying during that season, and it is clear that the skills he learned in our championship are paying significant dividends now in F1. I very much hope that George is able to visit one of the GB4 rounds this year and meet the young drivers he is so clearly inspiring.”