Did Russell feel pressure to deliver at Mercedes? "Arguably, when I was younger"

When asked by Autocar if he has ever felt serious pressure to perform, since Mercedes have invested so much in him, Russell replies: "Arguably, when I was a bit younger, maybe my early races in GP3."

In his own words, a switch went on in 2017. "I told myself: ‘I’m here for a reason and they haven’t picked me up for the sake of it.’ Mercedes don’t sign 15-20 young drivers every year; at the time, I was one of three. I knew I had to go out there and do my job to the best of my ability," Russell says.

The 22-year-old driver continues: "I’ve always had the most amount of pressure from myself. I know what I want to achieve, and I only saw being affiliated with Mercedes as a positive. Maybe I enjoyed that extra pressure that I knew all eyes were on me, even back then.”