George Russell lifts lid on stunning proposal to Carmen Montero Mundt with £1m ring F1 star spent half a year designing

DIAMONDS are forever and so is George Russell’s new fiancée Carmen Montero Mundt. British Mercedes driver Russell, 28, has lifted the lid to SunSport on his breathtaking engagement to Spanish influencer Mundt over F1’s summer break. F1 star George Russell announced his engagement to Carmen Montero Mundt over the summer break Credit: Instagram @georgerussell63 Russell helped design the rare yellow diamond ring Credit: Instagram @georgerussell63 The pièce de resistance of the evening was a giant, rare yellow diamond engagement ring worth around £1million. Kings-Lynn born Russell revealed he helped design the ring and it took him almost half a year to complete. Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! Snaps of the engagement and the ring sent social media into meltdown and had celebs like Jack Grealish sending their congratulations. Russell said ahead of tomorrow’s Dutch Grand Prix: “I was really excited. I really enjoyed the process of looking for the diamond, designing the ring. “I was nervous beforehand because I didn’t know what to choose or how to go about designing the right one. “I was really happy with the job I did with the design. It’s fancy, vivid, yellow, and then internally flawless, so it’s a very good cut. “I didn’t go through any of the main brands. I went to somebody private who deals directly with the people who mine the diamonds. “A lot of these big brands just put a crazy price tag on, which probably allowed me to get something even better and bigger. Most read in Sport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS The best travel deals for F1 NOTHING comes close to the thrill of a live Grand Prix – and YOU can be there to see it all. Get the full F1 experience with these unbeatable deals. 🇳🇱 HOLLAND – 20 to 25 Aug – From £1,089pp 🇮🇹 ITALY – 3 to 8 Sept – From £789pp 🇦🇿 AZERBAIJAN – 22 to 27 Sept – From £1,399pp 🇸🇬 SINGAPORE– 7 to 14 Oct – From £1,999pp 🇺🇸 AUSTIN, USA – 21 to 26 Oct – From £2,799pp 🇶🇦 QATAR – 27 to 29 Nov – From £1,049pp 🇦🇪 ABU DHABI – 4 to 6 Dec – From £2,049pp See ALL our F1 travel offers HERE *If you click on a link in this article, we will earn affiliate revenue. “As soon as I saw it, I knew that was the one. She did make some hints though! “I don’t think there’s any man in history who has bought a ring without being hinted at. But as I said, I didn’t want to buy anything off the shelf.” Russell popped the question in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, an exclusive resort town on the backdrop of the French Riviera — nicknamed the ‘Billionaires’ Peninsula’. Its secluded coves and dramatic cliffs make it a preferred getaway for celebrities due to its glamour, privacy and natural beauty. Russell and Mundt, 28, had even planned to potentially keep the news of their engagement private. But someone spotted the couple and snapped a photo to potentially leak the news. Russell added: “Let’s say we are more private than most people in our position. It is very difficult to be exceptionally private. “We debated about whether we posted about the engagement but I think there were some snaps of the moment taken by somebody, so we wanted it to come from us. “There was just one person at the location, a long way away. We didn’t want anything to get leaked and not be on our terms.” The couple met on a spontaneous blind date in London back in 2020 after being introduced by a mutual friend. They met just before Russell’s career blew up as well as F1 itself, with Netflix’s hit docuseries Drive to Survive becoming popular at the time. Russell added: “When we got engaged we just wanted to be somewhere quiet and peaceful where we could just be ourselves and really sort of cherish those moments because we live an incredible life. “We love F1, but it is sort of all guns blazing, full gas, place to place, jet lag in the limelight, and it’s sometimes difficult to get a bit of normality in it. “Actually, doing the engagement felt real, in a sense, whereas it almost feels like we don’t live in reality. “It was probably the first thing in my life that made me truly feel like a grown-up, if you know what I mean.” The couple met on a blind date in London in 2020 Credit: Getty The evening took place in Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, an exclusive enclave on the backdrop of the French Riviera Credit: Instagram @georgerussell63 Montero Mundt has been by Russell’s side in the paddock ever since Credit: Getty Mundt underwent emergency surgery for an appendicitis in February Credit: Instagram / @carmenmmundt For Russell, the engagement came just when he needed it most after a chaos-strewn first half to the season filled with DNFs, penalties, a crash and a waterleak in Budapest last time out. But the Brit has roared “it’s not over till it’s over”. He currently sits in third, 59 points adrift of leader and team-mate Kimi Antonelli, 19, and nine behind Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, 41, in second. It is also worth remembering that Oscar Piastri was on course to win it all this time last year before a dramatic collapse and Max Verstappen’s surprise comeback — all for Lando Norris to pip both to the title. Russell added: “For me, it’s just taking it race by race and seeing where it takes me. “In the back of my mind, of course, I know the Championship is there but in the front it’s business as usual. “That’s the mentality I’ve had my whole career and what has brought me to the point I am today. So I don’t want to change that mentality at all.” Comment now