Unstable Williams drains Russell's confidence

Williams driver George Russell has admitted a 'lack of stability' in the FW43 has left him struggling for confidence at the start of races and in when fighting in traffic.

Russell has reached the second phase of qualifying at every race in 2020 save for the season opening Austrian Grand Prix, but the Briton has struggled to make his strong starting positions count.

He explained: “Just simply, the car isn’t as stable as it should be.

“Both myself and Nicholas [Latifi] are really struggling with the stability of the car when we’re following others. Especially at the beginning when you’re following a gaggle of cars, the car is a bit all over the place and we’re really working on that to improve it.

“We see in the data, we lose a lot of downforce, more than we should, and ultimately as a driver, you’re driving to that limit, but that limit is much lower.

“I always wake up on a Sunday morning raring and confident to send it, but as soon as you get there it’s tricky for whatever reason."

For Russell, the problem is a strange one as he claims his starts has often been one of the stronger aspects of his racecraft. “Like I say, it’s – for me it’s not been like that in my junior career," he continued.

"I’ve always been happy, confident, comfortable on first laps. Statistically, I always was moving forwards on first laps, and it’s just not the same at the moment.

“I’m working as hard as I can to rectify that.”

Before you go...

"No quick fix" for Alfa Romeo aerodynamic problems as team continues to struggle

"Unlucky" Perez "not willing to take any blame" for contracting Covid-19

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

F1 News Today: Lewis Hamilton tipped for bombshell announcement, Horner causes uproar

• 1 minute ago

Bahrain & Saudi GPs could return this year in late F1 calendar swap

• 50 minutes ago

Ex-F1 star Romain Grosjean in heated confrontation - 'He fancied a bit of a fist fight'

• 2 hours ago

Hamilton vs Alonso: Inside the feud that rocked F1

• 3 hours ago

Fernando Alonso returns to McLaren, insider reacts: 'It opened my wounds'

• Today 11:57

F1 legend delivers brutal V8 verdict after FIA engine U-turn

• Today 10:55