F1 Racer George Russell Has Risky Hobbies Toto Wolff Doesn't Like

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team driver George Russell isn't a controversial figure on the circuit; he has frequent podium finishes and infrequent, though not absent, clashes with other drivers. But his off-track activities are more eyebrow-raising, he told Newsweek in an interview after the qualifying round of the Miami Grand Prix.

England-born Russell said he used to have porridge for breakfast in his youth, but when he got to F1, and pulled six Gs in the car, the physical strain would affect his stomach. Now, he opts for healthier fare.

"We have 24 races, we go to 20 different countries, and trying to get healthy meals on airplanes, healthy meals in the hotels, consistent diet, consistent sleep... It's just not a thing," Russell said, reaching for a slice of watermelon from the basketball-sized bowl of fresh-cut fruit in front of him. "In the last three years, we reach out to every single hotel and we send them our recipes. I'm having the same food [every week]. It's a bit boring, but at least I know what I'm getting."

With race day on the horizon, Russell said that he would have spaghetti Bolognese for dinner, "to get the carbs in ahead of tomorrow," and during the race weekend have "a few salads" saying that his stomach has a hard time digesting more nutritionally complex meals when he's "strapped into the race car" and subject to the forces of physics.

When Russell is not on the track, he challenges himself elsewhere and can frequently be seen spending his off-time with girlfriend Carmen Montero Mundt and fellow racer Jamie Chadwick and her partner, British race car driver Struan Moore.

"I love the Mediterranean. So during summer, we've always sort of been in the Balearic Islands. I love the water as well. We try to stay on the water, because our life is so hectic, just being like quiet and just being with the people who I love is nice, rather than being in the midst of the craziness when you go to these big cities," Russell said.

While there, he does foil boarding and has recently taken up free diving, going down as far as 23 meters, about seven stories in depth. "When I got into last year, I did it for meditation purposes. You've got to focus so much on the job at hand. You've got to breathe. You've got to relax. When you're diving down, you're seeing over the sea life and it is just such a calming place to be," he said.

"I've yet to really push myself to my limit, because in freediving, you've got to be careful. If you're pushing yourself running, when you want to stop. If you stop freediving. If you push yourself [you begin to wonder when you're] going to be on the way up. It's a bit of a risky one bite."

Though a self-labeled "summer guy," Russell shared that this winter he upset his boss, Toto Wolff, team principal and CEO of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team, with his extracurricular activities: "I went skiing for the very first time last year, which Toto was not so happy about."

"He doesn't like me doing a lot of things, to be honest, but that's part of life," Russell said.

But, Russell stresses that his off-track adventures are what make him able to cope with the rigors of being one of the best on the circuit: "Regardless if you got a good result or bad result, the Monday morning is like an emotional hangover. If you've had a good result, you're on such a high on Sunday, but then Monday is a bit of a slap round face. And then if you had a bad weekend, Monday is also a slap on the face, because it's like you're disappointed with the weekend, right? So no matter which way Sunday has gone, Monday is always, psychologically, a really tough day, which is sort of my like, my lowest point. So, I always try and find ways to take my mind away."