Why George Russell is ready to fight for F1 titles

George Russell cuts a rather relaxed figure. The 23-year-old is leaning against a fence lining one side of the narrow pathway between the Williams motorhome and the edge of the Monaco Grand Prix paddock. Beyond is another small walkway, and then it’s the harbour, filled with excess and glistening in the sun.

This is how Autosport finds Russell. He’s just finished a TV interview, the Wednesday before the race given over to the necessary distractions of a Formula 1 driver’s life. He’s chatty, friendly and calm. We’re struck by his general sense of ease – at one point as we’re setting up, a fan passes him a boat fender to sign. “I hope that’s waterproof!” he laughs (hand sanitiser quickly provided once this exchange has finished, such is the way of the world in 2021). 

Russell last featured as Autosport’s sole cover star in August 2020. Then, we’d chatted via Zoom as he sat in the Silverstone paddock while we were confined to one of the unused TV commentary boxes overlooking the start/finish line. Back then, talk was of honing his craft and staying grounded. Russell still exuded confidence – he’s got a demanding reputation, yet one that extends to his own expectations of his performances – but the 2020 Sakhir GP changed all of that. It was a self-assured drive befitting a driver who knows his own talent and potential, who seized his moment, even if things went terribly wrong through no fault of his own.

The figure facing Autosport now is rather different from the agitated, angry Russell who strode furiously through the Tamburello gravel trap on lap 31 of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. He’d just climbed from his wrecked FW43B and marched over to remonstrate with the other driver involved in what was an enormous, and enormously expensive, crash.

Valtteri Bottas more than held his nerve as Russell reached the cockpit of his similarly demolished Mercedes W12, his hand gesture leaving little interpretation required for what he thought of Russell’s actions. But the mistake Russell made that day – one he acknowledged in the period following the Imola event, after initially giving fiery interviews pushing his perspective on the reasons behind the incident – was going over to immediately lodge his displeasure.  

The attempted pass and the crash that followed were a part of racing. It was everything else that made observers wince. Russell flew home from the race with Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff, who clearly made his views known to his young charge. 

George Russell, Williams FW43B

Photo by: Erik Junius

“I think experiences from Bahrain last year, and other difficult moments throughout my junior career, have allowed me to put disappointment to one side and move on,” Russell replies when asked how easy he finds it to push past sporting adversity. After all, at the next race in Portugal, he was 0.057 seconds from getting a Williams into Q3… 

“I want to be a world champion. And to be a world champion, you’ve got to perform over 23 races, or 25 races, and you’ll inevitably have a disappointing race or a victory taken away. But you can’t dwell on it.

“I had that in Formula 2 [in 2018]. Most of the time, with reliability issues. It’s so frustrating when you felt like it was something out of your hands. But I knew I needed to win that championship if I wanted to get to F1, therefore I had to put the disappointment behind me and focus on the here and now. And that’s what I try to do in my everyday life. Looking forwards, not behind.

“If anything, my relationship with Toto has grown since the incident at Imola. There was a lot of tough love. But he ultimately wants to extract the absolute maximum from me, or from what he believes I can achieve.  

"I know that if I perform to the potential I believe I’m capable of, you’re putting yourself in the shop window. And I think that race in Bahrain gave me a unique opportunity to almost prove it. Whereas, prior to that, it was always a small unknown, because of the situation I found myself in [with Williams]" George Russell

“I think I’m mentally strong enough to be able to take this stuff on the chin, reflect on it, and come back stronger. Obviously, emotions were high… from all accounts. But my relationships with everybody – from everyone at Williams, to a number of the key people at Mercedes, who I’ve spoken with since – are better than ever. Often these difficult moments bring you closer together.” 

It’s clear where Russell went wrong at Imola, and it wasn’t in attacking a Mercedes that had no business running ninth, being lapped by the other Black Arrow that had the pace to win the race. He now stresses that “in that moment, I didn’t really comprehend that it was effectively a team-mate of mine” he was racing when taking on Bottas, who was struggling to find and keep critical tyre temperature. But simply by being in that position in what remains F1’s ninth-fastest car after five races so far in 2021, it again highlighted Russell’s potential. 

That’s critical when considering the futures of several F1 drivers. Last year, Mercedes had Bottas signed to a one-year contract extension, which it would have to re-evaluate while also trying to reach a long-term arrangement with its multiple world champion, Lewis Hamilton.

Race winner Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes celebrates in Parc Ferme with George Russell, Williams

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

By early August 2020, it had decided to keep Bottas on for a further season, but Hamilton’s deal for this year was only announced in February and only covers 2021. The squad is therefore in an identical position 12 months on. But Russell is also approaching the end of his initial three-year deal with Williams, while former Mercedes junior Esteban Ocon is also coming to the end of a two-year contract at Renault/Alpine. Then, there’s the vague possibility of Max Verstappen jumping ship from Red Bull…  

There are lots of factors for Wolff to consider, but also no reason to believe that the Imola incident has significantly altered Russell’s likely career trajectory. After all, he says that he and Wolff “don’t even talk about it now, it’s behind us” in their weekly chats.  

Mercedes has created something truly excellent with Hamilton, and Bottas’s contributions – mainly in not being a destabilising influence, as Nico Rosberg once was – should not be overlooked. But Wolff’s way of operating a grand prix squad as a nimble, franchise-style business means, perhaps more than ever, that the set-up needs to be futureproofed. And Russell’s Sakhir GP performance showed exactly what he can bring to Mercedes should he earn what he respectfully calls, for Williams’s benefit, a “move” and not a promotion for 2022. 

“I know that if I perform to the potential I believe I’m capable of, you’re putting yourself in the shop window,” says Russell. “And I think that race in Bahrain gave me a unique opportunity to almost prove it. Whereas, prior to that, it was always a small unknown, because of the situation I found myself in [with Williams].”

A Mercedes graduation is, naturally, the dream scenario for Russell. But it also ticks a lot of other boxes. Hamilton has regularly said that he welcomes the challenge from F1’s latest generation of rapid racers, and that contest would take on another tantalising dimension if one of the championship’s most highly rated young drivers were on the other side of the Mercedes garage. Then there are the fans looking forward to the same thing, and Silverstone seeking to sell tickets for future British Grands Prix.

It’s not hard to imagine how F1, as a promoter, would also feel about such a move – probably along the same lines as the Fleet Street media pack wondering what would happen to their publications’ interests in F1 post-Hamilton. The box-office potential of a Hamilton-Russell Mercedes line-up is clear.  

Autosport braces Russell for an inevitable question about his future once this season ends and his latest understanding of the situation. His facemask aids the pokerface, but his answer is revealing.

“Naturally, we all want something decided either way by the summer break,” he says. “I think it’s in everybody’s best interests. But I’m not pushing the subject with anybody – with Mercedes, with Williams. Because I’m focused on my job here. 

George Russell, Mercedes-AMG F1 in his car

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images

“I’m just enjoying every single race, enjoying where I find myself. But I think it’s really exciting that Lewis has openly been talking about the next couple of years. And it’s clear that he’s still performing at an incredibly high level. And I think it will be amazing for the sport, and for Mercedes, if he were to continue. And obviously, as any young driver, you want to go against the best. And Lewis is the best.” 

We can’t miss this chance to ask a question our editor made clear needed to be put to Russell during this interview: can he beat Hamilton if he does one day go up against him in equal machinery? 

“Lewis’s record speaks for itself,” Russell replies. “I believe in myself that… I think I’m far from the finished article. I think I’m at a good level at the moment, but I feel like I’ve got so much more to offer. Every single race I’m learning more and more about how to extract more from myself, more from my engineers. And it’s not just about pure pace, it’s about everything.

"Fundamentally, he’s not much different at all. His attitude is just the same; his ability to drive the car kind of aggressively but controlled is just the same" Dave Robson

“That’s what Lewis is clearly showing at the moment – that he has got that complete package sorted, and everything between him and that team is nailed on. And that’s the goal, that’s the target [for me]. So yeah, I would absolutely love the opportunity to go against him. Until I do, I couldn’t answer that question.” 

Russell isn’t alone in wanting to know how the next phase of his career will play out, with Hamilton also recently stating “it would be great to get something in place before the break”. For the first time since 2018, Mercedes has been in a sustained title fight with another team from the off, and Red Bull shows little sign of its ambition waning to secure a title before Honda exits F1. Then there are the considerations of how teams must operate under the cost cap and (minor) new aerodynamic design tools performance-balancing rules and developing the 2022 machines. It’s in everyone’s interests to get deals sorted as early as possible this year. But the same was true for Mercedes and Hamilton in 2020.  

The other side of Russell’s future career direction concerns his current squad. Williams has carried on building back towards the front of the grid with the FW43B, and is far from the doldrums of 2018-19. But the car is peaky and has a particular problem with wind sensitivity, so points continue to prove elusive. 

But the team at least has a regular starring role during qualifying sessions, with Russell boasting a 100% record of progressing from Q1 at each event so far this season. His results in 2021 are not going to stand out in the history books, which is another reason why the Imola incident was costly. But anyone who says this is evidence of Russell not living up to the billing he’s getting as a Mercedes star-in-waiting is missing the reality of where Williams remains, despite its recent efforts. 

George Russell congratulated by his team after qualifying 12th for the Emilia-Romagna GP

Photo by: Williams F1 Team

“He is very good at getting [everything] out of it [in qualifying], but the race performances, they’re more a function of the car, I think,” Williams head of vehicle performance Dave Robson says of Russell’s results.

“Which I think is what you saw [with] the occasion of the one-off in the Mercedes last year – he had no problems racing there, I don’t think. So, I still think he’s got everything he needs to complete a really strong weekend, he just needs a bit more from us unfortunately.” 

After Hamilton secured his 100th pole position at the Spanish GP, Robson was asked to recall his memories of the world champion’s early experiences as an aspiring F1 driver with McLaren. Robson was a test engineer at the team when Hamilton was a junior and later preparing to make his F1 bow, and was race engineer to Jenson Button during his time as Hamilton’s team-mate at the start of the last decade. He explained that there was “something” Hamilton “always had”, and says “there are definitely some similarities” with Russell. Now that Russell is two and a half years into his stint with Williams, the team has witnessed his development and growth.

“He’s not all that different, I don’t think,” reckons Robson. “Just more experienced and just got a much better understanding of the complexities of F1 – with the tyres, how that interacts with the brakes, how you’ve just got to kind of build up over the weekends. And a lot of it is just experience.  

“It’s undoubtedly changed him a little bit but, fundamentally, he’s not much different at all. His attitude is just the same; his ability to drive the car kind of aggressively but controlled is just the same. Still all that raw talent there, just with a bit of experience dropped on the top.” 

If Russell were to leave Williams at the end of this season, the squad would still be in a much stronger place than when he joined. The team, which celebrated 750 F1 race starts at Monaco (now relying on a new counting method), is on course to benefit from the investment and reorganising implemented by new owner Dorilton Capital. Its senior management and technical leadership set-up has been strengthened, and the engineering teams – particularly in the aerodynamic department – are on a recruitment drive.

Much like Racing Point in 2019, Williams will have to wait to see the full benefit of a cash injection – in classic F1 style, everything takes time. But Russell reckons “things are stable, and the future looks bright for the team”. 

F-X Demaison, Williams technical director, has strengthened the team's senior engineering staff

Photo by: Williams F1 Team

“You can’t just suddenly inject a load of cash and expect results because your baseline is so far away,” he explains. “And, again, it would not have been wise for [Dorilton] to have done that. Because they’re not looking to rush, they’re looking to do things properly, which is absolutely the right way.  

“They’re here for the long haul. They’ve got a very strong, mid-to-long-term target. And now with the arrival of Jost [Capito, as team CEO] and technical director in F-X [Francois-Xavier Demaison], the team is now finally starting to have some real stability, which will allow all of the other workers to fully focus on their own roles under the direction of the guys at the top. Which we didn’t really have for so long.  

“As I’ve said before, when Claire [Williams] and Mike [O’Driscoll, former CEO] were here, their main objective was to keep the team alive, which is absolutely the right objective, but performance was a secondary target. Whereas now, performance is everything. And potentially a lot of us would not have been here today, had it not been for the great efforts of Claire and Mike to keep the team alive during the pandemic. 

"But I feel like I’m ready to fight for world championships and fight for victories. I feel ready right now to be able to do that, let alone with another year under my belt by the end of this season" George Russell

“It fills me with a lot of pride to be part of this amazing history. The team have achieved so much, there is so much history here and success within the team and it’s now [about] remembering those glory days, but not holding all of our hopes over that. That is the past, we do need to look forward.” 

Williams’s F1 fortunes are closely channelled with Mercedes. The team has run the manufacturer’s engines since 2014, and next year will take its gearboxes and related hydraulic components too – a development that moves Williams away from its previous policy of producing such parts in-house. But it has also helped to develop Russell into the prospect he is today. At the same time, agreeing to let the Briton replace Hamilton on what turned out to be a one-off basis in Bahrain late last year has meant additional gains for Williams. 

“The major benefit is just the confidence it has brought me,” says Russell of his experience of nearly winning – twice – the race ultimately won by Sergio Perez for what is now the Aston Martin squad. “Knowing that, with the right material, I can do the job.  

“And if there were ever a very small doubt in the back of my mind thinking, ‘Is this the maximum the Williams car can do on one of our good days?’, I think now I can put it aside and say, ‘Actually, on our good days, and when I believe I’ve done a good job, that was a good job.’ That for all of us has been so beneficial. If anything, it has probably allowed me to unlock a bit more performance within myself.  

George Russell leads Nicholas Latifi in the Sakhir GP

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

“But absolutely, the level Mercedes work at is extraordinary. Just feeling how that car is to drive, knowing how great it is, how balanced, how much confidence it gives me, I know that is the target. And I give feedback to the designers here to say, ‘I know this is possible, because I’ve driven a car that allows me to do this, that and the other. We need to keep on pushing to give me more of that because that will make me go faster.’” 

The way F1’s driver market is currently stacked surely means Russell’s place in 2022 will be at either one of two teams: Mercedes or Williams. While Verstappen remains the championship’s hottest prospect should Hamilton decide to move on, it’s still unlikely that he would be available to Mercedes, particularly if he does win the title with Red Bull this year. And a fresh deal to remain with Alpine has got to be the most likely outcome for Ocon at this stage. 

Given Russell’s clear confidence in what is still not an easy situation fighting for any major results in ‘Class C’, plus the proof that he’s the real deal provided by the events of the Sakhir GP, either Mercedes or Williams would gain/retain a valuable asset with his services next year.  

But should he move to the team that has just won seven world title doubles, and could yet add an eighth in 2021, he’ll have the chance to succeed in situations that should excite every F1 fan. As well as the potential to race alongside one of the championship’s greatest-ever drivers in one of its best-ever teams, he’ll be taking on Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris at the front of the pack – drivers he knows are “going to be here for the next 10 to 15 years” and knows he’ll have to best if he’s to reach his dream level. 

“If [Mercedes] believe I deserve the opportunity, then it’ll be there,” he concludes. “If they don’t believe I deserve it, then they will find me a seat somewhere where I can continue to develop.  

“But I feel like I’m ready to fight for world championships and fight for victories. I feel ready right now to be able to do that, let alone with another year under my belt by the end of this season.  

“So, wherever I find myself next year, I want to be in a car that will give me the chance to win races. Because I didn’t fight my whole career to get to F1 to be fighting for 15th and 16th. I fought my whole career to get here and to win.”

George Russell, Williams

Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images