Russell on difficult time at Williams: "Performance came in second place"

The Williams team has been a big name in Formula 1 for decades, and has several championships to its name. After Claire Williams took over the team from her father Frank Williams, things went downhill fast. The team was on the verge of financial ruin, and as a result, it was sold. This in the hope that the name Williams will remain at the top of motorsport.

According to George Russell, those worse years were not so much about performing, but about surviving. "2019 was an incredibly difficult season, and in 2020 we saw that because of the pandemic and the financial situation of the season it was going to be very difficult to develop and improve," Russell said in a conversation with Motorsport.com.

Performance was second to Williams

He continued: "Now we have new owners, but unfortunately for us that came just too late to make a big difference in 2021. You can't suddenly put a lot of money into something and expect a good result straight away. That wouldn't have been wise, because they don't want to rush things. They want to do it right, and that's the right way."

The Williams driver also points out that in the days of Claire Williams and Mike O' Driscoll, it was mainly a matter of survival. "That's certainly a good goal, but performance was second. Now performance is the priority," said the 23-year-old Briton.