Russell's experiences with Hamilton 'extremely valuable' - Williams

Williams engineer Paddy Lowe believes that George Russell's exposure to working alongside Lewis Hamilton as Mercedes' reserve driver last season will be "extremely valuable" for the rookie, whom he believes is "humble and intelligent" enough to learn from his experience with the five-time championship winner.

With Williams opting to completely change their driving line-up for the 2019 Formula 1 season, Russell was promoted from F2, while Robert Kubica was also selected by the struggling British outfit.

Russell, however, spent time with Mercedes and Hamilton in a reserve driver capacity in 2018, and Lowe thinks the pair working in close proximity will be important for Russell's development.

"I think that would be really valuable," Lowe told Autosport.

"Drivers can have a tendency to work in their own bubble and by nature they are super competitive, so you are wired up to think you are the best.

"That's the definition of the ultimate competitor, which is what you want in a Formula 1 driver, [but] that's at odds from a personality point of view to look at someone else and say, 'I want to learn from him' or 'I admire him because he's better than me'.

"It's counter to your wiring. George is intelligent enough and humble enough to take advantage of and appreciate that privilege to work alongside someone who is undoubtedly well ahead of him at the moment.

"For him to have seen exactly how Lewis works, what are the things he spends his time on, what is his approach, what is his attitude, will prove to be extremely valuable in the future."

Walking into this factory never gets old ????

Mega to see everyone at Grove pushing flat out ???? @williamsracing pic.twitter.com/JEom6v1SzY — George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) January 15, 2019

Russell previously commented on the experiences with Hamilton, too, and highlighted the importance of listening more than talking.

"Every driver is different and if one driver drives in a certain way he probably can't translate that into another driver if he says 'Do this, do that'," the young Brit said.

"Every driver has to find their own way of driving, but the things I've learned is how he interacts with the team, the feedback and everything and that's what I could learn.

"Lewis does offer bits of advice here and there, but like I say I use my ears more than my mouth."

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