Williams must develop at triple the rate it is now - Russell

George Russell believes that Williams must out-develop the rest of the Formula 1 field at triple the rate in order to catch up to the rest of the pack.

Williams has had a torrid start to the 2019 season, missing the first two days of winter testing due to the car not being built in time. 

Since then, the tone has been the same with Williams comfortably slowest in every session so far this season without mechanical issues affecting another team.

The British rookie, who has had the measure of Robert Kubica since the beginning of the year, insists that the team is working flat out to rectify the situation however it might require three times as much work just to match the rest of the midfield.

“From my side, driving the car, I’m trying to direct the team in the right place,” he told Autosport.

“Now I just have to believe in the team to do their thing: the designers, the aerodynamicists, to go out and try to achieve something. Everybody’s working as fast as they can to try to improve.

“In Formula 1, everybody improves. We’ve not only got to improve but we’ve got to improve at double or triple the rate of everyone else, which in reality is extremely difficult.

“We’ve got to stay positive but we’ve also got to be realistic. We can’t be aiming for much more than we’re achieving at the moment. In Formula 1 everybody is developing and we’ve got to find a certain magic to try to overcome that.”