George Russell claims F2 Championship rival Lando Norris’s singing by McLaren put pressure on Williams to sign him ahead of the 2019 season.
George Russell made history when he claimed the 2018 F2 Championship title. Russell had won the F3 title in 2017 and was only the fourth driver after Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg and Charles Leclerc to win the two titles in consecutive seasons.
Russell claimed the F2 title after a season-long battle with fellow Brit Lando Norris. Russell finished 68 points ahead of Lando but the two showed great talent.
And the two seemed likely to make it to F1 in the following year. Russell joined the Mercedes junior driver programme in 2017. While Lando joined McLaren in the same year.
But McLaren confirmed that Lando will be driving for the team in 2019. The team even let the Briton test for the team on 7 occasions while he was trailing Russell in the F2 table.
Meanwhile, Russell was yet to receive a racing seat. Mercedes were arranging a seat with Williams. But with Norris receiving a seat, Russell was in danger of being poached by other teams.
Russell said, “Lando’s announcement so early helped me to push Williams for my drive. Because I was ahead of him in the championship and McLaren believed Norris was worthy of a F1 1 seat.”
He adds, “It probably added more pressure for Williams to say ‘we’ve got to go with George. Because he’s the guy who is winning F2.'” Ahead of the final round of the F2 season, Russell was announced as a Williams driver for the 2019 season.
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George Russell on remaining loyal to Mercedes
George Russell was a generational talent when he graduated from F2 in 2018. The Brit could have moved to any team on the F1 grid but he chose to wait for Mercedes to give an offer.
Russell joined the Mercedes driver academy in 2017 ahead of his F3 championship. And immediately Team Principal Toto Wolff spotted his talent.
Russell claimed, “Whenever I had my talks with Mercedes and Toto, they understood what was going on and understood the true potential. They didn’t just look at the overall standings and the points we’d lost.”
“The people I needed to please at that point were ART and Mercedes, and now they are Williams and Mercedes. It doesn’t matter what everyone else thinks, what the perception is, as long as they think I’m doing a good job, that’s all that matters to me.”
Years later, ahead of the 2022 season, Mercedes confirmed Russell as a Mercedes driver. He replaced Valtteri Bottas and is touted to be a future F1 World Champion.
Also Read: George Russell reveals difference in environment between his former team and Silver Arrows
