F1 | Russell: "To receive such high praise from Hamilton means a huge amount"
Lewis Hamilton describes young British driver, George Russell as "the future" of the sport.
According to Formula One prodigy and Williams Racing driver, Geroge Russell, he states, "Formula One is a ruthless sport. You've got to excel in all aspects otherwise you're going to be eaten up and spat out the other side, I want to be a winner, I want to be a world champion, and that's the goal "
The young Brit is obviously a driven, optimistic and ambitious man, supremely concentrated and erudite as he talks to The Sportsman in an exclusive interview. In December, at the Sakhir Grand Prix, the 22-year-old Williams driver stepped up for Mercedes to stand in for Lewis Hamilton, who was absent after testing positive for COVID-19.
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Gripping the opportunity offered to him with both hands, the biggest factor in him not clinching a maiden victory was incredible back luck. He was only scuppered, leading the chase for great spells, when a pit-stop mistake saw Mercedes place the tires of Valtteri BOttas on his car. Although he slowed down by having to pit again for the error to be repaired, a puncture later in the race was what eventually consigned him to a ninth place finish. He was immensely impressed, no matter what.
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According to Russell's experience on TheSportsman.com, "It was incredible how it all came about so last minute, it was confirmed on the Wednesday night and I was in the car on Friday. The weekend went as well as it could have done until it didn't "
To continue, "went into it with the approach that it's not going to break my career but could potentially make it and I think it was a massive stepping stone to, I hope, a long future in F1 to come. I was really grateful for the chance, obviously not in the circumstances I would have wished, but nevertheless with the short notice we had, it gave me a chance to show what I can do from the front. We had the opportunity to win the race twice, but unfortunately it was taken away both times. You believe in yourself as a driver, but until you're winning there's always a small element of unknown. You just never know, if Lewis was to jump in a Williams, where would he end up? Just getting that chance definitely boosted my confidence. "
It is no surprise to hear Hamilton describes Russell as "the future" of F1 after his handling of those nightmare setbacks in Bahrain, and some even have tipped him to succeed the current Mercedes champion. But King's Lynn's young racer won't let such adulation go to his head.
The driver adds, “Lewis is a legend, obviously the greatest and statistically he will be the greatest of all-time by the end of this year, I'm sure. I've got the most respect for him, for what he does on the track, how he deals with the engineers, and so my respect for him has grown tremendously in the last four years or so. To receive such high praise means a huge amount, but equally I don't let it affect me because Lewis isn't going to make a difference in my career. I've got to do this, I've got to go out there and perform on the track. It doesn't matter if every single driver says I'm the greatest if you don't perform. You do your talking on the track. "
Althought Michael Schumacher was a hero to Russell growing up, he says, "it's obvious he was a legend, I used to look and take the best aspects from each driver. Lewis' outright speed and what he does on the track, someone like [ Fernando] Alonso who gets the most out of every situation, [Juan Pablo] Montoya, who is really aggressive. It's not just racing attributes Russell has studied, either, admitting, “Even off the tracks everybody loved Jenson [Button] and how he dealt with the media. He was a fan favorite. "
Russell is well aware of the grueling sacrifices he will have to make to be a competitor after having made the move up, and takes his physical and mental health seriously.
