Russell leads seven F1 drivers on Langkawi getaway before Bahrain Grand Prix

George Russell organised a group getaway to the Malaysian island of Langkawi with six fellow Formula 1 drivers ahead of this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, sharing photographs of the trip on Instagram that showed the group go-karting, posing in front of a waterfall, and playing chess.

Joining the Mercedes driver were Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Alex Albon, Oliver Bearman, Carlos Sainz, and Gabriel Bortoleto. One image captured Norris filming his McLaren team-mate Piastri, apparently for his Prime docuseries.

Speaking at a press conference at the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Russell credited Mercedes title partner Petronas with inspiring the destination. “Langkawi was incredible. I love coming to Malaysia. We come numerous times per year, and everybody at Petronas many times have recommended to go and visit the beautiful island of Langkawi,” the 28-year-old said. “We went with six other drivers, and we had a really amazing time. It’s such a beautiful, beautiful place. The people are so friendly, and it felt like a different world being there. It was the perfect way to prepare for this week.”

Russell’s team-mate Kimi Antonelli took a different approach to his pre-race downtime, opting to explore Kuala Lumpur and visit a water park. “I had a lot of fun,” Antonelli said. “There were few people, so I could go on the slide repeatedly. I did the same slide five times in like three minutes, so I was just running up and down.”

Antonelli arrives at the Bahrain Grand Prix holding a 66-point lead in the drivers’ championship, a gap built in part by Russell’s victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.