In 2019, George Russell made his F1 debut with Williams. The youngster was soon considered a driver in the making with a future role at the Mercedes AMG Formula 1 team. Now at Mercedes, Russell has had to work hard to get to this point and has issued a huge warning to his rivals, including team mate Lewis Hamilton.

Now at Mercedes, George Russell had started his Formula 1 debut at Williams in 2019. He was considered to be a driver in the making, despite some complicated results. The British driver looked back on his debut with Williams.

“I had a really unique season in my first year in F1”

George Russell recently reflected on his debut in Formula One with Williams. He admits that at every race he was fighting for the team’s survival, not for performance.

“I had a really unique season in my first year in Formula One, joining Williams from a team that was on the verge of bankruptcy. During every weekend we were racing to survive, not to perform, the team had to make sure they saved 800 jobs.”

“Seeing Alex finish on the podium & Lando always finishing in the points was hard to take.”

In particular, George Russell admits that it was very hard for him to accept the fact that Lando Norris and Alex Albon were doing better results than him by saying:

“When we arrived in Australia for the first race, we were four seconds off the pace in the first few laps. The car was falling apart and we were taking two or three laps. You think… ‘This is the dream of Formula 1’, but I think I’ve always kept a rational view of things,

“And to see Alex finish on the podium and Lando always finish in the points, it was hard to accept because we were in Formula 2 the year before and I had beaten them.”

Russell issues warning to rivals & Hamilton

After a successful first season on a personal level with Mercedes, George Russell finished 2022 in fourth place, ahead of Lewis Hamilton who finished sixth. With the 2023 season only a few months away, Russell has spoken out about the year ahead and is keen to warn his title rivals.

In his first season with Mercedes, George Russell was impressive in winning his first Grand Prix of his career and finishing the championship in fourth place, ahead of Lewis Hamilton who finished in sixth place. With the 2023 season just a few months away, the British driver spoke about the year ahead and has big ambitions.

“Every race I fight to do the best job possible”

Russell admitted that he feels ready to fight for the title. In particular, he admits that he will fight as hard as he can to achieve his goals.

“Every race I fight to do the best job I can, whether it’s for the win, like in Brazil, or for the last place, like at Williams. If we get to the first race next year, and we realise we have a car capable of winning, I will still approach it the same way.”

“I have enough experience now to fight for a championship”

George Russell continued: “I think I have enough experience now to feel ready to fight for a championship and be able to handle the challenges and difficulties that come with it.

“Obviously guys like Lewis and Max have more experience in this scenario. But if you start on pole and win all the races, you’ll be world champion.You just have to focus on the little details, and it’s in your hands.”