Formula 1

Russell pays tribute to Williams after securing Mercedes drive

Fraser Masefield
07 Sep 2021
3 min read

George Russell gave a touching and heartfelt thank you to his Williams team after it was announced that he would be partnering Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2022.

Russell has always been under the umbrella of Mercedes as an academy driver but has been a first team driver for Williams since the 2019 season after winning the F2 title the year before.

And despite having to regularly fight it out in at the tail end of the grid, the Englishman has oozed quality having never been outqualified by a teammate and amazingly grabbing a podium in Spa-Francorchamps thanks to his spectacular qualifying lap in the wet.

“It’s been an incredible journey these past three years and I just want to say a huge thank you to Claire and to Sir Frank for giving me this opportunity in Formula One which I will remember for the rest of my life,” said Russell in a Williams Racing video tweet.

“Obviously with the transition over to Jost and Dorilton has been incredibly appreciated and what I see from the team is incredibly exciting and this transition and the experiences we have shared together especially recently, the double points finish in Hungary and then that front row start qualifying P2 in Spa and ultimately going on to score the podium is something I will also remember forever.

“So I just want to say a huge thank you to everybody. I’m really looking forward to these final nine races to finish the job off in style and… thank you!”

Mercedes certainly know that in pairing Russell with Hamilton they have arguably the strongest line-up on the grid for 2022, Russell almost winning in his first outing in Sakhir but for a botched pit stop that cost him the race.

“Looking ahead to next season, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t absolutely buzzing,” added Russell in the Mercedes team press release. “It’s a huge opportunity and one I want to grab with both hands. But I’m under no illusions as to the scale of the challenge; it’s going to be a steep learning curve. Valtteri has set a high bar, consistently delivering week in and week out, scoring wins, pole positions and helping win multiple championship titles.

“My target must be to reward the trust that Toto, the team, and the board have placed in me by ensuring I play my part in continuing that success and I want to do my new team-mates proud.”

 

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Fraser Masefield

Sports news and features writer, web editor and author.

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