George Russell explains eye-catching Chinese Grand Prix helmet design

George Russell discussed his Chinese Grand Prix helmet inspired by traditional blue-and-white teacups as he also looked ahead to starting the Shanghai sprint from pole

Mercedes driver George Russell has explained the design of his Chinese Grand Prix helmet.

The Briton, who will start from pole position for the sprint race in Shanghai, took inspiration from the traditional blue-and-white teacups in his one-off design for the race weekend.

"I honestly think this is one of my coolest helmets, ever. It's the first time I'm seeing it, and it's come out even better in reality," the 28-year-old driver explained to Mercedes as he described the striking blue and white design.

"I don't know what you think, but I think it looks awesome. So this is '63. I've got George Russell on the back, so that's a small upgrade on the last year's, which was just saying, Russell," he said, translating the Chinese writing on the helmet.

"This design really embraces the teacup, which I'm liking. I'm vibing that. I'm vibing that. The colour combination is really... It's really, really cool, so I'm really happy about it.

"Miles, MDM design, who's been doing my stuff since 2013, I think this is definitely one of his best designs. And we worked on this together, with the idea, and every year in China, we try and come up with something pretty special. Very good."

The Mercedes driver will start the Chinese sprint race from pole position. After successfully converting pole position to a race win at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, he will be looking to repeat this in Shanghai.

"The car's been really great this whole day, and also the engine is performing more, let's say, normal compared to what we saw in Melbourne, where you obviously had those big derates," he told the media.

"It was a bit challenging to drive. It was a bit challenging in Q3 because the wind picked up, and I think us and McLaren lost a bit of speed in the straight, but the car's been really great, and I've enjoyed the drive."

George Russell, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

Asked what he can expect for the sprint race and grand prix qualifying, he added: "I can't expect anything. Expect the unexpected. I don't know what's going to happen. My practice start this morning was much better, probably one of my best of the season.

"We're obviously improving so much in that regard and the full focus since Melbourne has been on how we can improve those starts. Thankfully, the two guys around me are two Mercedes engines, so hopefully there's not going to be any fast starts in Ferrari zoom by.

"But then the race, it's going to be, I think we're going to struggle with graining. We saw last year, graining was quite a factor. Tyres were dropping off, so let's see what we can do."