George Russell shares 12-year karting throwback with Max Verstappen: "It’s a reminder that dreams don’t happen overnight"

George Russell recently shared a wholesome post recalling his karting days and how he ended up in F1. He also encouraged young karting drivers to keep pushing and dream big.

Russell started his racing career in 2006 by racing go-karts. He participated in karting from 2006 to 2013, after which he entered the F4 Championship. Since many F1 drivers arrived from Europe, they have met each other during their karting days.

The Mercedes driver recently posted a couple of wholesome pictures of him winning a karting race when he was young and playing with young Max Verstappen.

In the post, he explained that the pictures were from 12 years ago, when he won the European Karting Championship in the junior series (KF3), while Verstappen was ahead of him in the senior category (KF2).

"12 years ago, I was celebrating my win at the European Karting Championship in the Juniors, alongside Max, who took the win in Seniors at my local circuit PFI," Russell wrote.

Russell then reminisced about the passion he had to race in the top motorsport series when he was a kid. Old pictures reminded him of how he felt the urge to make it to F1 when he was young. He added that no one can become successful in a few days, but could eventually arrive if someone works extremely hard.

"This weekend, PFI is hosting the World Karting Championship and it reminded me of the hard work, the passion, and the dream to one day race at the top. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day pressures of life and racing, but stumbling across these photos reminded me of that kid who was hungry to make it to F1," Russell wrote.

"It’s a reminder that dreams don’t happen overnight, but with hard work, there’s a chance that they can become reality," he concluded.

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George Russell encourages young karting drivers to work hard and dream big ahead of the 2024 World Karting Championship

After reminiscing about his karting days with other drivers like Verstappen, George Russell wished current young karting drivers the best for the upcoming World Karting Championship. He urged the racers to keep working hard on their racecraft.

"Best of luck to everyone competing at the World Karting Championships this weekend. Give it your all and you never know where it may lead," Russell wrote.

The 2024 World Karting Championship will be organized by FIA's karting department at PF International Kart Circuit in Grantham, UK. The tournament is held from 12 to 15 September, which clashes with the 2024 F1 Azerbaijan GP where George Russell will race with the Mercedes F1 team.