Williams can keep George Russell 'if he believes in future' - Capito

Williams

Williams can keep Russell 'if he believes in future' - Capito

Russell is expected to move to Mercedes when a seat becomes available

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Friday 21 May 2021 09:28

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Williams CEO Jost Capito believes the team could hold onto George Russell should he 'believe in their future'.

Russell is a Mercedes-supported driver, with speculation continuing he is next in line to take a seat with the constructors' champions once his deal with Williams expires at the end of this year.

Capito, though, still has hope Williams might yet be able to retain the 23-year-old

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"I think George has been a Mercedes driver for many years and I don't think they will let him go," said Capito.

"We will see. We have time to talk about drivers and we are not needing to discuss that now."

Asked whether he would be willing to offer Russell a multi-year contract as the Briton is hoping to secure with the next team he drives for, Capito added: "Of course.

"He is doing a great job, he is a fantastic driver and we have created a really good relationship.

"I think he would fit really well to Williams for our future as well. If he believes in our future, there might be a chance to keep him."

Williams is competing in its 750th F1 race at Monaco this weekend but with the team still searching for its first points since Germany 2019.

Capito, though, believes there is scope for a clever strategy to try and gain a top-10 finish.

"In Monaco, anything can happen," he explained. "With us being at the back of the grid normally, we can take some risks or strategies that frontrunners can't do.

"That can work out and it cannot work out but we will think about what we will do this weekend. We will do something different to others if it makes sense because we can afford to do that."