Williams boss Jost Capito says that George Russell demands a lot from himself and the team and works hard to get the job done.
George Russell’s three-year stint with Williams came to an end in 2021. The 23-year-old makes his long-awaited move to Mercedes, where he will partner up with Lewis Hamilton. How he fares in his new team has been subject to widespread anticipation.
Many people expect him to be on Hamilton’s toes from the get-go, while others have warned him to take it slow. Jenson Button, who is an advisor at his former team Williams, asked the Brit to be realistic with his expectations because he’ll be going up against one of the best drivers of all time in Hamilton.
Members of the team have left their good luck messages on @georgerussell63‘s Abu Dhabi helmet! ✍️ pic.twitter.com/SL0OpXbDpm
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) December 10, 2021
Jost Capito, CEO of Williams, expects his former driver to comfortably live up to the Mercedes challenge. He believes Russel’s ‘demanding’ nature will help him comfortably settle into his new team.
“I think George has huge respect from all the team members, and he is demanding,” said Capito. “If he wants to get something done on the car, he really pushes for it. And if he wants to get something done in the team he is pushing but always in a very positive way.”
“I never heard a bad word from him all year. Still being very direct in what he wants and what he expects. I think that is a fantastic attitude of George.”
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George Russell and Nicholas Latifi possess the same good qualities, says Capito
Latifi recently spoke about how his performances are misinterpreted. He insisted that the gap between himself and Russell was not as big as people made it out to be.
Capito agrees with what the Canadian said. He added that the 26-year-old is similar to his former teammate in terms of attitude. “Nicky is very much the same. So character-wise they’re very much the same, and everybody likes working with them.” the Williams boss continued.
Signing off our 2 years as teammates! Thanks for pushing me on and off the track! Been a pleasure! Best of luck next year 👊🏻 pic.twitter.com/ythBtgaI5p
— Nicholas Latifi (@NicholasLatifi) December 12, 2021
“They’ve also created a very good relationship with George and with Nicky, but also what was very important for the team and that is George is not there, ‘I’m the better driver here so everything is done the way I want’.”
“He is really great team player as well. He knows that he wants to win and he wants to be the best, but he always is thinking about his teammate as well.”
2021 was Russel’s best year in F1 to date. The man from King’s Lynn finished 15th in the Drivers’ standings with 16 points to his name. He also earned Williams their first podium finish since the Azerbaijan GP in 2017.
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