Despite the temporary uncertainty about George Russell's seat at Williams, Toto Wolff remained 'reasonably relaxed' during that period. According to the Mercedes' team boss, Russell's seat was never in any real danger.
Uncertainty
Russell has been a Mercedes junior since 2017 and has been driving in Formula 1 with the Williams team since 2019. Although the Brit was confirmed fairly early in the season for 2021, there was a brief period of uncertainty about his seat when it became known that Sergio Perez would no longer be driving at Racing Point.
Speculation about Russell's seat came to an end when Williams confirmed at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix that Russell will drive for the team in 2021. Wolff says he saw few problems for the Brit. "I'm always pretty relaxed when it comes to decisions like this," says the Austrian in conversation with Motorsport.com.
Alternative programme
"If George wouldn’t have been in Williams, that would have been a little bit annoying. But I guess he would have been a very strong reserve with us, and we would have found an additional programme for him. At the end, I’m happy that they decided in favour of him. I think he deserves it, his performances are outstanding. I think they made a good choice," concludes Wolff.