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  • Hi, I'm George Russell, and these are my 10 essential items with GQ.

  • This item is my race suit.

  • Pretty important for what I do.

  • It's pretty toasty inside of here because of the fireproof.

  • It's got a really thick layer inside.

  • So during the hot races, you're struggling quite a lot in there, but I'm guessing you'd be pretty thankful if you were to be in flames, which, fingers crossed, never happens.

  • During the races, especially the hot races, we lose up to about four kilos, mainly in fluids, but we actually have to weigh the suit on its own before and after the race because often you've got about a kilo's worth of sweat just within this race suit.

  • So I don't know if that's a good thing or pretty disgusting, but all the sweat is in there somewhere.

  • The suit is always tailor-made for the driver, but it needs to be tailor-made in a seated position.

  • It actually needs to be a little bit baggier around the bum when you're standing because when we're in the race car, sat down, it all stretches out.

  • So when we're walking around, it may not look like the most tailor-made suit, but when we're sat in the cockpit, it fits like a glove.

  • My next essential is my passport.

  • This stays on me 24-7.

  • Everywhere I go, it says Russell P2 on the back because I actually have two passports.

  • Because we travel so much, you're allowed two passports when they're sent off for visas.

  • It's not because I'm an agent or a spy or anything like that, but that is legit, apparently.

  • I've only had this one just over a year, but I'm 29 pages in so far.

  • Some good locations in here, bringing back a few memories.

  • Japanese visa, Malaysia a few times, Australia.

  • Yeah, I've definitely been through at least two passports, and I've also got a second.

  • So I guess that's three passports I'm closing in on.

  • My notepad.

  • I actually leave the notepad next to my bed open every time I sleep because I'm always thinking about things.

  • I felt like whenever I wrote things down, it took it away from my mind and it would allow me to sleep better and relax more.

  • I'd always write down notes before a race.

  • So we'd have our strategy meeting in the morning where we'd go through all the different options, maximise the tyres, which corners I need to be more aggressive on, which corners I need to be a bit more cautious on to protect the car, protect the tyres.

  • I've also got the very first pages, the scores of a card game with my family.

  • They're pretty diverse notepad.

  • Police sunglasses.

  • Obviously one to protect myself from the sun, but also we have so many time zone shifts during the season.

  • We're travelling so much and wearing sunglasses at the right point in the day really helps to adjust the body clock.

  • So you may sometimes see me walking around an airport with my sunnies on and I promise I'm not trying to look like a rock star.

  • I'm just trying to get into the next time zone.

  • I don't know if you can tell from the camera, but I have quite a large head.

  • So finding sunglasses that fit are not always easy, but since I started wearing police, they just fit my face and this is sort of a style I like.

  • So yeah, let me know what you think.

  • My next travel essential is my speaker.

  • I just love listening to music while getting ready in the morning in the shower.

  • So you need something pretty potent, pretty loud.

  • I'm one of those people who don't have one standout artist who is my favourite.

  • I have a lot of respect for Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Black Eyed Peas as well.

  • I'm definitely not the one in social situations to take control of the music because I feel that is one of the highest pressurised jobs.

  • So I always give that to somebody else and then when I don't like, I just complain about it.

  • So yeah, that's not for me.

  • My trusty pillow.

  • I travel quite a lot.

  • I stay in many different hotels.

  • My pet hate is when I get to a hotel, I'd lay in the bed, bed's nice and comfy and I'd get this pillow and it would either be too big, too small, too firm, too soft.

  • So I thought, you know what?

  • I need to take my own pillow everywhere I go.

  • So I need to leave a little extra space in my bag just for this.

  • It might be a little disgusting.

  • I think I've had it for about four or five years now, this pillow.

  • So I don't want to do it because I'm scared to take the pillowcase off to see what the pillow looks like beneath.

  • But once you've found the one you love, you can't change it, can you?

  • My next essential item is my white linen Tommy Hilfiger shirt.

  • I feel that with a white shirt that fits you properly, you can wear it for any occasion, whether you're going for a smart dinner, a casual dinner, going to the beach.

  • I mean, I might even just throw it on now, you know.

  • Here we go.

  • Roll the sleeves up a little bit.

  • Any situation.

  • This fitness band, I don't even know the official name for it.

  • I find it really handy whenever I'm actually flying, to be honest, just doing little exercises and stretches with this band.

  • I mean, we're not really inventing the world here, but this is sort of like a simple stretch.

  • This is what I'd normally do when you're standing near like the toilets on an aeroplane.

  • So you don't have a lot of space.

  • And when people are queuing for the toilets, they're looking at you like, what the hell are you doing?

  • Keeps me fit, I guess.

  • A new addition to the 10 essentials during a race weekend.

  • I wanted to have a little sleep before one of the races.

  • It was pretty noisy around.

  • And then I'd have those horrible squidgy orange earplugs.

  • I'd stick in and then they'd always like fall out and they wouldn't really work.

  • It just felt horrible and disgusting.

  • So I put my earplugs in that I use to race in.

  • I've obviously got the wires which connect to the car.

  • So I asked my team if they'd be able to create little earplugs molded to my ears that I can stick in anytime while I'm flying, while I'm sleeping, obviously with no wires attached.

  • Self-care.

  • You know, you obviously find these in all the hotels you go to, but they vary quite a lot when you're traveling between the US, Mexico, Japan, China, Australia.

  • So I always take my trusty shampoo, my hair gel, it's actually clay, and my Gillette razor.

  • So I like to take good care of myself.

  • Playing around a bit with my hair last year, which was a new thing for me.

  • I had the same hairstyle for about 15 years, which was cut by my mum.

  • My daily routine when I wake up, I always try and stay off my phone.

  • I think it's really good for your mind.

  • That's so important.

  • Obviously, jumping in the shower, clean my teeth.

  • Yeah, I probably should have brought my toothbrush with me here as well.

  • That is also an essential, but I thought these were the main ones.

  • Have a shave, do my hair.

  • I'd like to think I'm the cleanest shaven driver on the grid.

  • I mean, there are some who are still struggling to grow a beard.

  • So maybe they've beat me in that race.

  • But for those who can grow a bit of stubble or a beard, I think I'll have the cleanest one.

  • Thanks for watching my 10 Essentials with GQ.

  • See you next time.

Hi, I'm George Russell, and these are my 10 essential items with GQ.

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