F1 News

George Russell says teammate Latifi is very underrated

George Russell says teammate Latifi is "very underrated"

23-02-2020 14:34

George Russell says that his new teammate Nicholas Latifi will not be a pushover as they are set to battle to bring Williams back into the midfield in 2020. Russell may not have scored a point in 2019, but he convincingly outperformed teammate Robert Kubica, but he has warned people against saying the same will happen again with Latifi.

Russell outqualified Kubica at every event last season and took the championship in his first year of F2, compared to Latifi, who spent four full seasons in the series, finishing a best of second last year.

However, Russell doesn't think outperforming his teammate will be as easy this year, telling media in Barcelona that the Canadian is well prepared for the season.

He said: "I think Nicholas is definitely very under-rated He's incredibly prepared. And he's going to be a tough driver to beat, so he is going to keep me on my toes. I'll be pushing.

"Nicholas is a great driver but you know he's probably the most prepared rookie F1 has had ever almost. He's driven a Force India, he's driven a Williams, he's driven a Mercedes, he's driven a Renault. He's been testing for three or four years now in F1.

"On paper he's a rookie, but the reality is he's not, and he's definitely going to be tough to beat. I'm ready for the challenge and looking forward to that battle."