George Russell- “We Were a Big Step Behind Everybody Else”

Despite lagging behind in the pre-season build up, George Russell of Williams presented an optimistic perspective on the development of Williams.

“I’d be lying if I said we were not the slowest at the moment, that is a reality,” said George Russell.

According to insideracing however, he was positive about the future developments. “It is clear we have some work to do, but was very positive is that we made a big step from when I jumped into the car definitely on Tuesday, we made a step since Robert [Kubica] was in the car yesterday”, said Russell.

“Hopefully when he(Robert Kubica) jumps in again tomorrow, we will find another step”, continued Russell. “We understand the issues, we recognize that, and we are doing everything we can to rectify it”, he added.

In-spite of being content with the number of laps, the timing is still an issue according to Russell.“I’m definitely very happy with the number of laps we’ve done but we have not been able to do lap times, we still have a bit to find with them”, he said. “We were up there but we’ve got work to do- we were a big step behind everybody else.”

George Russell also said that he was in a team that already had a lot of catching up to do, and thus relieved a little bit off pressure off his shoulders. However, he also said that he will not be allowing this fact to get in the way of his competitiveness and will strive to move forward in the world of F1.

“I think I need to step back and pinch myself and realize(that) I am in F1 and I will be making my debut,” he said. “At the end of the day my goal is to be in F1 for many years to come, so If I step back and relax too much I might be kicked out of the door”, he added.

“So my goal at the moment is to work with the team to try and push this car and get everything out of it.”

While it remains to be seen how much ground Williams manages to cover before the first Grand Prix of the season, it surely will be interesting to see how George Russell’s addition impacts the team.