George Russell finally managed to score his first points for Williams in Hungary, after two and a half years of racing for the team. According to the young Brit, that achievement is even greater than what he showed when he joined Mercedes on a one-off basis.
At the end of the 2020 season, Russell was given the opportunity out of the blue to race for Mercedes at the Sakhir Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton was infected with the coronavirus. Russell immediately qualified in a handsome second place behind teammate Valtteri Bottas, and in the race he outperformed Bottas and should have won. Unfortunately Mercedes' errors and a puncture resulted in a different outcome.
Race with Mercedes or points with Williams?
Russell remembers that weekend very well: "I was thrown in at the deep end then," he tells Auto, Motor und Sport. "The conditions were incredibly difficult. But I knew I had the car to do something good. In my head, I believed it immediately."
But a top performance for Williams is hard work says Russell: "Now I know we have to do everything right, and even then the points are a bit out of reach. It feels like a victory. Points with Williams might be a bigger achievement."