Russell proud of Williams despite FW42 farce

George Russell says he is proud of his Williams team for working through the night to prepare the team's 2019 car after he and team-mate Robert Kubica were forced to miss the opening two days of Formula 1 pre-season testing.

Formula 1 rookie Russell joined the Williams team for this season after two years as a test and development driver with Mercedes.

The 21-year-old says his experience with the Silver Arrows helped him adapt to the situation he has found himself in at the Circuit de Catalunya this week.

"[Working with Mercedes] gives me a good understanding of what we need to be working towards," he said.

.@GeorgeRussell63 says he 'still hasn't gone balls out attack yet' in the new car, whereas @kvyatofficial said his lap yesterday was not 'balls out' despite going quickest. It seems going 'balls out' may be the standard by which quick laps are defined this year. #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/jJ8FQWHvbi — Rob Watts (@robwattsf1) February 21, 2019

"No matter what industry you're in, you always want to be the best or beat the best, so having that experience last year makes me understand what that is really, so I'm in quite a privileged position.

"Until you're involved in a Formula 1 team you don't understand how much work goes on just to get a Formula 1 car on the track. I went around the factory and saw everybody in January, and I was amazed. I've been in a Formula 1 team for two years and I was still amazed how much effort goes into [to launching a new car]."

Although yet to make his F1 debut, Russell has been forced to show maturity beyond his years this week as the Williams team have come in for fierce criticism for failing to deliver their 2019 car on time.

Russell, though, is remaining positive and highlighted the fact that Williams are not the first team to have missed the start of winter testing.

"We've seen it before, Force India missed the whole of 2015 testing and they still finished fifth in the championship," he added.

#GR63 completes his final lap and brings the first test to a close.

It’s been a tough week but the whole team is working hard and focused on pushing on with the test programme next week ????#F1Testing pic.twitter.com/TYlYi2nWE8 — ROKiT WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) February 21, 2019

"Obviously, the whole team is a bit frustrated and disappointed at how things turned out this week, but we still need to stay positive. It's not the end of the world.

"We score points in the races, not in the testing, so we just need to keep our heads held high and make the most of the situation."

After finishing bottom of the constructors' championship for the first time ever last season, Russell insists that critics of the Williams team do not understand how hard everyone is working to turn things around, something which makes him proud to be involved.

"I understand we haven't got in this situation on purpose. Everybody is upset about it and they're working their socks off to make it right," said Russell.

"That was refreshing for me and made me quite proud of the guys at how hard they're working. They've been up since 2.30am yesterday morning, working all through the night to make the car ready and it's a privilege to be part of this team.

"We're all excited to get back out on track on Tuesday, but first we have a lot of work to do make sure the car is in the best possible state with no issues, and [so that] we can do the laps because we have some catching up to do."

MORE: Kubica: Williams yet to prepare for Australian GP
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