George Russell believes he was ready to make the jump to Mercedes after spending two seasons with the Williams team.
George Russell made his F1 debut in 2019 after winning the Formula 2 Championship the previous year. He joined Williams, teaming up with the experienced Robert Kubica at the Wantage based team.
The young Brit spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons in the back of the grid without scoring a single point for Williams. However, he showed his driving promise when he fulfilled his role as a stand-in driver for Lewis Hamilton (who was out with Covid) at the 2020 Sakhir GP.
Despite being the favourite to win the race, Russell ended up finishing 9th due to a strategy goof-up by the Mercedes team. That would be his first points finish in the sport.
2021 with Williams was a much better year for the 23-year-old. He finished with 16 points and a podium to his name in what was his final year with Williams.
Earlier this September, it was announced that Russell would replace Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes, 2022 onwards. This was ‘the worst kept secret in F1’, as the man from King’s Lynn had been linked to the Silver Arrows for a long time.
However, Russell feels that he was more than ready to join Mercedes ahead of 2021 itself.
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George Russell had to fulfil his three-year contract with Williams
Russell joined Williams for a three-year deal back in 2019. This forced him to stay in Oxfordshire for a year more than he originally intended to. Still, the Briton feels that he learned a lot from his team, who made him ready to move on to the next level.
“We signed for three years. There was absolutely nothing we could do about that.” said Russell
“After year one, I would have felt ready. Still, I’m glad I stayed longer. I’m a better driver today than I was then. Two years (at Williams) would have been perfect. This year I would have been more than ready to move up.”
Russell does not regret staying at Williams because it taught him a lot about the ‘high standards of F1’. He can use what he learned to succeed alongside his new teammate Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.
“You always learn.” said the outgoing Williams driver in an interview with Motorsport Magazin. “Your natural speed is what it is. It doesn’t get any better.”
“How do I get more out of my engineers? How do I fine-tune the car? How do I manage the tires on a cold day in Brazil?” George Russell added.
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