Paul Russo is a racing driver from United States who last raced in Formula 1 for Kurtis Kraft. Russo has recorded 0 wins and 1 podium from 8 starts.[1]
A Racer Rating of 4,921 ranks Russo 366th of 15,348 indexed drivers, on an Elo scale where the strongest reach the low five figures. It is built from every indexed race in the driver's file, decayed for time since their last race.
| 1959-05-30 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | P9 | +69 |
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Podiums | DNFs | Poles | Points | Pos | Gain/Loss | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | ▸Formula 1 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P20 | +69 | 5,043 |
| 1958 | ▸Formula 1 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P22 | −17 | 4,974 |
| 1957 | ▸Formula 1 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | P17 | +119 | 4,990 |
| 1956 | ▸Formula 1 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | P27 | −159 | 4,872 |
| 1955 | ▸Formula 1 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | P13 | +68 | 5,031 |
| 1954 | ▸Formula 1 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P27 | +34 | 4,963 |
| 1953 | ▸Formula 1 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | P18 | +56 | 4,929 |
| 1950 | ▸Formula 1 | Nichels | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P23 | +73 | 4,873 |
| Rival | Rating | Raced | Ahead | Behind | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Jim Rathmann | 5,075 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% |
| 🇺🇸 Duane Carter | 5,054 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% |
| 🇺🇸 Tony Bettenhausen | 4,934 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% |
| 🇺🇸 Gene Hartley | 4,824 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% |
| 🇺🇸 Jimmy Davies | 4,893 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 100% |
| 🇺🇸 Walt Faulkner | 4,876 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 75% |
| 🇺🇸 Andy Linden | 4,844 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 100% |
| 🇺🇸 Sam Hanks | 4,988 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 33% |
| 🇺🇸 Jack McGrath | 4,932 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 67% |
| 🇺🇸 Eddie Johnson | 4,920 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 67% |
Paul Russo was an American racing driver who competed in Formula 1 during the 1950s. He made eight starts for Kurtis Kraft between 1950 and 1959, securing one podium finish across that span. His final appearance came in 1959, when he finished twentieth. The Kurtis Kraft operation that fielded Russo was a competitive outfit by the standards of the era, accumulating five race wins across its full history and fielding drivers of genuine calibre, most notably Jim Rathmann.[1]
Russo operated in a professional field populated by drivers of strong standing. His most frequent rivals included Rathmann, Duane Carter, Tony Bettenhausen, and Jimmy Davies; all were accomplished competitors with ratings clustering around 4,900 to 5,075. Against this cohort, Russo showed a mixed record. He outfinished Rathmann on three of five occasions they raced together and beat Carter twice in five meetings, though Carter also finished ahead of him three times. His most one-sided advantage came against Gene Hartley, whom he finished ahead of in all five shared races. He also showed strength relative to Jimmy Davies and Walt Faulkner, beating each of them in the majority of their head-to-head encounters. This pattern of results places him as a mid-field competitor within his professional environment rather than a front-runner, with a Racer Rating of 4,921 reflecting solid status among professionals of that generation.[2]