"True joy" Mercedes made Williams return "so much harder" - Russell
"True joy" Mercedes made Williams return "so much harder" - Russell
George Russell has revealed the difficulty he faced in returning to Williams following his 'substitute' appearance for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.
Following his superb performance for Mercedes in the Sakhir Grand Prix weekend while Hamilton was self-isolating after contracting Covid-19, it was back to reality for Russell during the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP with Williams.
The 22-year-old has explained his experience of the two cars - the W11 compared to the FW43 - meant it was easier to integrate into the championship-winning team even though he is more familiar with his surroundings at Williams.
"[It was] actually harder jumping back to the Williams because the Mercedes car is so good," he explained. "It is what every driver wants from a racecar.
"The driver is in control of the Mercedes whereas sometimes it feels like our car is controlling the driver. We have to react to it whereas, in the Mercedes, we are the ones controlling it.
"I think it is only natural when you have got a great car underneath you. It's a true joy to drive and that's why maybe I got up to speed relatively quickly."
Russell's race at the Yas Marina Circuit en route to 15th was straightforward as strategy allowed him to jump Antonio Giovinazzi, while he comfortably had the pace to outrun team-mate Nicholas Latifi and both Haas.
But the car again had its difficulties, further underlining the disparity between the Williams and Mercedes as the latter rarely encountered issues across the season.
"We were really on the limits of brake temperature," he said. "We were really having to manage the brakes, which was managing how you attack the brake, what brake balance you use, which then consequently hurts the tyres.
"I couldn't attack the brakes and then the tyre temperatures were dropping but the track was getting colder so I needed to attack the corners to get the tyre temperature up and it was on this knife's edge all race.
"Actually, it was a very well managed and executed race with all of the little gremlins in the background but with the track temp dropping, you need to be able to push the car to the absolute limits and we couldn't really do that."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 News Today: ‘Absolute b******s’ Newey claims slammed as Norris INJURED while partying
- 15 minutes ago
Hamilton hit with SURPRISE Ferrari claim as new Cullen relationship blossoms - GPFans F1 Recap
- Yesterday 23:57
Current F1 star qualifies for world championship race on two wheels
- Yesterday 22:57
Ricciardo given HUGE boost after upgrade claim
- Yesterday 21:57
‘Absolute b******s’ - Newey’s wife SLAMS Red Bull F1 claims
- Yesterday 20:57
Norris INJURED at party with legendary DJ
- Yesterday 19:57
Related news
Mercedes reveal shock RED livery to celebrate historic milestone
Verstappen 'to meet Mercedes over SHOCK 2025 move as Red Bull exit clause revealed'
BLOW for former F1 champion as Mercedes preferences revealed
Mercedes star tipped to replace struggling driver THIS season
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860