Russell sought mental health advice during “low point” in F1 career

In an interview with Men’s Health magazine, Russell spoke about a wide range of issues surrounding mental health, stating that people should not be afraid to seek it.

While Russell didn’t pinpoint the exact race he decided to seek professional advice, Imola 2020 and Sakhir 2020 were low moments for him, although the latter was more out of his control.

“The moment when I thought I need to seek some professional help, I had a really difficult race. I had a crash, [and] it was a very low point in my career,” Russell said. 

“I thought I could just pick myself up from that moment and I was picking myself up, but we decided to speak with a professional.

“And I was so grateful that I was advised to do that because I came away from that conversation and that meeting with him feeling so much better about myself, and put those negatives to the side, lifted myself up, and I was ready to attack the rest of the day and the rest of the week.”

Fellow British F1 driver Lando Norris has been incredibly vocal about mental health, also opening up about the troubles he faced during his rookie season in 2019.

Russell admitted he hadn’t always been informed about mental health.

“I haven’t always been into my mental health. I only started getting into it about a year and a half, two years ago, when I started to speak with a psychologist, mainly for my on-track personal performance,” Russell added.

“It was only through those conversations that I felt like this is giving me more than just the on-track benefits. I’m coming away from these sessions feeling better about myself, feeling like there had been a weight lifted off my shoulders.

“Sometimes I went into these sessions with not a lot to talk about, thinking it would only last five or 10 minutes, and I was there well over an hour and since then it has been something I have felt strongly about.”

Russell offered one final piece of advice for anyone struggling with their own mental health.  

“The one bit of advice I would give to someone who is struggling with their mental health would be not to be ashamed about talking to somebody,” Russell said. “Whether that is a friend, or a colleague, or a member of your family, or reaching out to a professional.

“We all have our moments where we are feeling a bit down, a little bit low but even when we are not, I think talking to somebody to almost have this mental maintenance just to keep ticking over, to keep in that positive place, is so important.”