Norris felt sorry for Russell. "Disappointing to see"

George Russell was promoted to F1 in 2019 after his great season in F2. He ended up in the pinnacle of motorsport with two friends. Lando Norris and Alexander Albon, who finished second and third respectively in 2018, only got a better spot than the champion. Norris had pity.

The chair at Williams that Russell acquired in 2019 didn't seem worth that much. Together with Robert Kubica they drove every race behind the field. Lando Norris who went to McLaren did much better business and now says he's happy Williams is on her way back during qualifying.

To Motorsport.com the Brit says: "I'm certainly happy for him. At least now he has the chance to race with some others. Last year I felt sorry for him. He is a nice guy and I am good with him. He is also a very good driver. It was disappointing to see him at the place Williams was in."

Norris sees big step forward at Williams

It couldn't have been much worse but still it's good to see that a traditional strong team like Williams is starting to climb back a bit. Norris: "In the winter tests Williams already made a big jump. They seemed a lot more competitive right away."

"In our calculations, we even expect that they can become a direct competitor and beat us in Q2, or even in Q3. In any case, Russell himself has clearly done a good job."