“I Don’t Think Claire Would Allow Me to Go Anywhere Else”-George Russell Opens up on His Future Outside Williams F1

Numbers don’t tell you the whole story. Although Williams ended the first race without any points, the FW43 looked much more competitive than its predecessor.

In fact, had a power unit issue not derailed the solid race that George Russell was having, Williams may have won a point. So there is a renewed sense of optimism and hope for a brighter future among the team and its fans.

Speaking of Russell, on Thursday’s driver press conference ahead of the Styrian Grand Prix, the young Briton talked about his future in the sport. However, he claims that he doesn’t hold all the answers about his future, someone else does.

George Russell admits his future is in the hands of Williams Deputy Team Principal Claire Williams

The driver made the revelation at the virtual press conference held on the 9th of July. He said, “You know, obviously, Mercedes are my managers – we’ve been in talk – we’re are always in talks, on a weekly basis, almost daily basis for the past two years. Those talks have, you know increased, as I’m pushing for my future.

“But like I say, I know what I need to do, which is just perform to my maximum on track. I do have a contract for next year at Williams, so ultimately it’s potentially in Claire’s hands of where my future lies. As I say, I have a contract with Williams next year, I am a Mercedes junior driver.

“I don’t think Claire would allow me to go anywhere else potentially other than Mercedes. Like I say, that’s not in my hands, that’s in her hands, and for all the powers above me to deal with and see what happens there.”

Nevertheless, for now, both Russell and Claire would only be focused on the objective at hand. Russell was impressive in last weeks’ qualifying session and almost made it to Q2 for the first time. He’ll be hoping for a similar if not, better qualifying session. And obviously, a little more luck, come race day.

As for Williams, they would be hoping that either Russell or Nicholas Latifi can get their points tally up and running by the end of this week’s Grand Prix.