George Russell

Russell has performed well in difficult circumstances in his rookie F1 season, after joining the Williams line-up as Formula 2 champion.<br>Williams’s struggles have left Russell almost exclusively fighting teammate Robert Kubica at the tail of the field, but Russell’s performances have led some to link him with a possible move to Mercedes, which has backed him since his title-winning GP3 ...

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Russell stepped up to F1 this season after back-to-back titles in GP3 and Formula 2, but Williams has struggled and kept the British driver and returning F1 race winner Kubica in an almost exclusive battle at the back.<br>Mercedes protege Russell has outpaced Kubica in every qualifying session so far, while Kubica’s struggles have led to constant suggestions – mainly from his home country in ...

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The British rookie nearly made it through to Q2 for the first time this year with a stand-out performance in qualifying at Hungaroring, as Williams' new update package appeared to pay dividends.<br>But while encouraged by the steps that Williams has made, Russell is also cautious about the chances of a repeat strong performance in the future if the team is not as open-minded to trying different ...

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Wolff says that the team is facing a straight choice between keeping incumbent Valtteri Bottas and promoting reserve driver Esteban Ocon, and he believes that Russell should continue on his learning curve at Williams, where he has an ongoing contract.<br>Wolff cited Max Verstappen as an example of a driver who was given space to learn.<br>"I think you've got to consider that these guys come into ...

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At the end of the first qualifying session, Russell missed out on his first Q2 appearance by just 0.05s from Romain Grosjean, having been in the midfield mix throughout the weekend.<br>Russell explained that, although he felt that his fastest lap in third free practice was strong, initial predictions from within the Williams team suggested that the car was still some way off its ...

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Russell said he and teammate Robert Kubica were “really struggling” in the rain-hit German GP but discovered a “massive” difference with a back-to-back run in Friday’s wet second practice session at the Hungaroring. <br>The rookie said he lapped 2.5 seconds quicker and had a completely different feeling in his car after using the rain-hit session to trial changes to the set-up he used in ...

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During the penultimate safety car period Russell occupied 13th position, ahead of Lance Stroll, who elected to pit for slicks as the safety car began its final lap on lap 45.<br>Stroll was immediately able to bring his tyres up to temperature on the restart and, after a flurry of pitstops as the field changed intermediate tyres for slicks, momentarily led the race.<br><br>Read Also:<br><br>Debate ...

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Various grid penalties meant Russell was due to start the race 18th, despite qualifying 19th and having his own three-place grid penalty for impeding Daniil Kvyat.<br><br>Read Also:<br><br>Russell penalised after "ruining" Kvyat's qualifying<br><br><br>However, Williams has since replaced the front wing assembly on Russell's car with one of a different specification.<br>As that is not allowed ...

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The Russian came into the last two corners in Q1 to find Russell going slowly at the back of a queue of cars that also included Kvyat's Toro Rosso teammate Alex Albon.<br>Kvyat was able to jink the steering wheel to the left and get past safely, but his lap was ruined, and he didn't progress to Q2.<br><br>Read Also:<br><br>Austrian GP: Starting grid in pictures<br>Austrian GP: Leclerc beats ...

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Although the team has faced a difficult start to the campaign, as it bids to find improvements that can lift it off the back of the grid, it has not let its situation affect its desire to shine in other areas.<br>That has included a run of impressive pitstop performance, including the tally of having the top three fastest stops of the 2019 season.<br>This included a stunning 1.97 seconds stop for ...

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Russell ran wide trying to overtake Williams teammate Kubica around the outside at the fast Signes right-hander early in the French Grand Prix and hit a polystyrene board with the front left of his front wing.<br>Unseen to television viewers, he managed to get ahead of Kubica later on but the slight strike of the braking distance board eventually prompted a second pitstop and dropped him to the ...

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Russell outqualified Robert Kubica, taking the penultimate slot on the grid, but fell behind his teammate on the first lap.<br>He then pitted for hard tyres - which meant he did not have to stop again - at the same time as the frontrunners, when the safety car was deployed after a puncture for the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.<br>After Antonio Giovinazzi tagged Kubica into a spin on lap 15, Russell ...

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The Williams Formula 1 driver crashed backwards into the barriers at Turn 4 in the closing minutes of final free practice on Saturday, bringing out the red flags.<br>After examination of his car back in the Williams garage, the team decided that following the rear-end collision a new gearbox would be needed. It means Russell will take a five-place penalty, which will almost certainly move him to ...

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During a difficult start to the season Kubica has complained of differences between his car and Russell's, something Russell backed up earlier in the year.<br>Kubica was hopeful there would not be a repeat as of this weekend, and after Friday practice at Barcelona Russell said the previous differences between the two cars was put down to "a sensor issue".<br>Russell also revealed that both drivers ...

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Kubica has trailed his rookie teammate Russell in every qualifying and race of the 2019 campaign so far, but insisted underlying aerodynamic differences between his and Russell's cars have made direct comparisons moot.<br>“It's clear that we are driving two different cars with the same set-up, so that is something we need to understand,” Kubica said earlier this season. “It's quite obvious ...

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The team was not able to undertake repairs on the spot in Baku, which is why the Englishman had to switch to the spare tub, and thus missed FP2 as well.<br>However, the damaged chassis is now back in use, along with the one that teammate Robert Kubica crashed in qualifying, and which was repaired for the race but required some further work.<br>"Both chassis have been repaired from both incidents ...

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The British team is the only F1 entry without a point so far in 2019 and has been cut adrift of the rest of the grid in the first four races after a nightmare start to the season.<br>A late car build and need to change designs to ensure legality put it behind schedule, which has left it unable to produce upgrades to make up for its performance shortcomings.<br>Williams will bring "a few little ...

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Russell, the reigning Formula 2 champion, has impressed in his first outings for the Grove-based team so far, regularly outqualifying and outracing teammate Robert Kubica.<br>This came amid a bruising start to the campaign for Williams, whose FW42 car has remained cut adrift of the midfield battle.<br>Asked by Motorsport.com whether his own career background helped him better cope with Williams' ...

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Russell arrived in Baku suffering from a respiratory infection, then hit a dislodged drain cover in first practice which caused major damage and forced him to miss FP2 as well. <br>Though he outqualified and outraced teammate Robert Kubica for the fourth race in a row, both Williams drivers were lapped twice on a circuit the team has enjoyed favourable form at in the past. <br>“It was as good ...

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Russell has been suffering with a viral infection in the build-up to Baku, and pulled out of the pre-weekend Thursday press conference as a result.<br>He sat out almost the entirety of Friday's running after a loose manhole cover wrote off his FW42 chassis, and was slower than teammate Robert Kubica in Saturday morning practice, but had the measure of his teammate in qualifying even before Kubica ...

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Russell ran over the manhole cover early in FP1, triggering a red flag that eventually led to a cancellation of the session.<br><br>Read Also:<br><br>First Baku practice abandoned after drain cover drama<br>Russell to miss FP2 after manhole cover incident<br><br><br>Damage to the chassis which can be repaired back at the team's Grove base meant that he had to take the spare FW42 tub, which in turn ...

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The incident led to the session being cancelled with only the two Ferrari drivers having set a flying laptime.<br>The spare FW42 chassis is now being built up but, under FIA regulations, if a driver makes a change, he cannot take part in another session on the same day.<br>In addition, some of Russell's Mercedes power unit elements are believed to have been damaged and may not be usable, which ...

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Although Russell was seen in the paddock his team wanted to minimise his workload and allow him to rest ahead of the start of practice on Friday.<br>Russell was due to appear in the FIA press conference alongside Kevin Magnussen, Lance Stroll, Nico Hulkenberg and Antonio Giovinazzi, but the Englishman was given permission to miss it.<br>He also missed the track walk and some team meetings ...

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Despite impressing in his first three grands prix of the year for the troubled Williams outfit, Russell believes there is scope for him to do an even better job.<br><br>Read Also:<br><br>Five drivers who show Russell isn't doomed<br><br><br>And he suggests one way is for him to slightly back off from being on the limit, so he can better ensure that time is not lost dealing with a car that can be ...

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Red Bull dropped Albon in 2012 but managed to extract the Anglo-Thai from a Nissan Formula E contract last year so it could place him in F1 with its junior team Toro Rosso for 2019. <br>Albon scored his first points in Bahrain but suffered a big crash in final practice in China that forced him to miss qualifying. <br>Mercedes protege and Williams race driver Russell said: “Alex is doing a ...

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