{{short description|British engineer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Use British English|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = Paul Russell | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = | education = | alma_mater = | occupation = [[Engineer]] | years_active = | employer = [[Sauber Motorsport]] | known_for = Formula One Engineer | title = }} '''Paul Russell''' is a British [[Formula One]] and motorsports engineer. He is best known for holding a number of senior engineering roles at [[Sauber Motorsport]] including Head of Trackside Engineering, Race Engineer and Test Engineer.<ref>{{cite web|title= Paul Russell |url=https://sidepodcast.com/f1-employee/paul-russell|publisher=SidePodcast}}</ref>
==Career== Russell graduated from the [[University of Brighton]] in 1989 with a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. He began his professional career at [[Lola Cars]] as an electronics engineer, working on on-car and off-car electrical, electronic, and sensor systems, including wind-tunnel instrumentation and factory test rigs.
He joined [[Sauber Motorsport]] in May 1997, initially working in data analysis before progressing to a test engineering role with the Hinwil-based team.<ref>{{cite web|title= Montoya on top again at Jerez |url=https://www.crash.net/f1/news/52709/1/jerez-test-day-two-23-june|publisher=Crash.net}}</ref> He remained in this position through the organisation’s transition into [[BMW Sauber]], and in 2009 was appointed race engineer to [[Nick Heidfeld]]. When the team reverted to private ownership as Sauber in 2010, Russell served as race engineer to [[Pedro de la Rosa]] during the early part of the season, before reuniting with Heidfeld following the German’s return to the team at the [[2010 Singapore Grand Prix]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Nick Heidfeld (GER) BMW Sauber with his Race Engineer Paul Russell (GBR) |url=https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/nick-heidfeld-bmw-sauber-with-his-race-engineer-paul-news-photo/2176437187|publisher=Getty Images}}</ref>
Russell then returned to the test team from 2011 to 2015, where his role focused on driver development and data analysis. He also engineered [[Simona de Silvestro]] as part of the team’s programme evaluating her for a potential race seat in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|title= Simona De Silvestro completes first Formula 1 test for Sauber |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/27189613|publisher=BBC Sport}}</ref> During the closing stages of the 2015 season Russell returned to a race engineering role, supporting [[Felipe Nasr]] for the final rounds of the championship.<ref>{{cite web|title= Engineer switch pays off immediately for Nasr |url=https://www.grandprix.com/news/engineer-switch-pays-off-immediately-for-nasr.html|publisher=GrandPrix.com}}</ref> In 2016 he briefly served as interim Head of Track Engineering prior to the arrival of [[Xevi Pujolar]], after which he transitioned towards vehicle dynamics and aerodynamic performance development.<ref>{{cite web|title= Xevi Pujolar bounces back with Sauber |url=https://www.motorsinside.com/en/f1/news/21240-xevi-pujolar-bounces-back-sauber|publisher=MotorsInside}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}} {{Sauber}} {{BMW in Formula One}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Paul}} [[Category:Formula One engineers]] [[Category:21st-century British engineers]] [[Category:British motorsport people]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of Brighton]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]