“I will be fully focused on Mercedes the morning after the race”: George Russell reveals when he will start working with his new team

In December, George Russell said that he would start working for Mercedes the next day after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. 

The 23-year-old will partner Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes next season onwards. Russell has spent his F1 career with Williams since entering the sport back in 2019. He has mainly been impressive for the British team, particularly in 2021.

Russell qualified and finished 2nd at the Belgian Grand Prix, which earned Williams their first podium finish since 2017. He replaces Valtteri Bottas at the Brackley based team, who will join Alfa Romeo at the end of the year.

The current Williams driver has already made his debut for Mercedes at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix. He stood in for Hamilton, who had tested positive for Covid 19. The young driver put in a strong display, qualifying in second and was also set for a race victory before a pit stop error cost him the win.

I already feel very familiar with the Mercedes staff, says George Russell

Russell was asked when he would be able to start his journey with the Silver Arrows.

“It will be Monday morning after the Abu Dhabi race, and it will be 120 percent focus on all things Mercedes.” Russell answered.

“I’ll be driving the test afterwards and then back in the factory as I fly back from the test straight to the factory. We will do some simulator, and meet some more people. “I’m in a very fortunate position. I’ve obviously spent so much time with Mercedes as a team from 2016 all the way through until 2018.

“Whenever we see each other at the airports or the tracks, I know them as well as I know almost everybody at Williams, really. So I’m going into a group and a family that I know so well.” he added.

Also read: Toto Wolff gave assurance to George Russell he will be a Mercedes driver next season

Russell expects Williams to have a strong Sao Paolo Grand Prix

The Williams of both Russell and teammate Nicholas Latifi looked weak in Mexico. The former claims that they struggled last week due to cooling issues with their cars, now expect better performance in Brazil.

“We were struggling a lot of cooling,” said Russell. “So we had to cool the car a considerable amount, probably much more than we were anticipating.

“We were just in no man’s land, really, so it was a long afternoon. I thought we were on for a good result, but when we understood the cooling issues, it was a tough afternoon for all of us as a team.

“That was a unique circumstance in Mexico and I suspect we will be back to our normal pace here. If we have another strong first lap, as we did last week, we probably could get some points.” he concluded.

George Russell is currently 15th in the Driver’s Standings with 16 points to his name.

Also read: Valtteri Bottas says he would not have considered renewing with Mercedes unless they gave him a long term contract