Russell: There was no way out of Williams

George Russell made his Formula 1 debut with Williams in 2019, and it was an unhidden secret that one day he would become a Mercedes driver being part of their junior program, in addition to the good performance he was delivering at the back-marker team, once a great Championship race winning outfit.

Russell spoke of that period of his young career in top flight during the "Beyond the Grid" podcast, saying: "I think when we signed with Williams back in 2018, this was a team, bearing in mind, that had just spent three years scoring podiums, finishing P3, P3, P5 in the constructors’, and then they had a very bad year in 2018 where they finished last.

"But we thought that this was a team that at the time that can bounce back from this, and they'll be back in the P5 to P3 region of competitiveness. So, we all sort of agreed that three years was a good period, fighting for points, maybe for podiums," he added.

"In hindsight, three years driving on my own at the back of the grid was too long," the Briton reflected. "But, unfortunately, Claire [Williams, former Deputy Team Principal] did quite a good job at the contract negotiations, and there was sort of no way out."

Russell however sees the benefits of joining Mercedes in 2022, under the new regulations, instead of joining before that and driving a car designed around his current teammate Lewis Hamilton, which meant he might struggle.

"But when I look at this with the benefit of hindsight, I think joining Mercedes last year or even in 2020 would've been incredibly tough," he mused, "because going up against Lewis when that car has been evolved to suit his style of driving over so many years, that was his baby as such.

"Whereas now it's a fresh sheet of paper for everybody, everybody is starting from scratch, and this was probably the right time," the 24-year-old admitted.

Russell had an audition with Mercedes when he replaced the Covid-struck Hamilton for the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain, where he had the chance of winning had it not been for bad luck and Mercedes messing up their pitstops.

"Toto [Wolff, Team Principal] always said to me just keep doing your job on track, keep doing what you're doing, and you'll be in the car. And then obviously we had Sakhir 2020," Russell said referring to that race.

"I think they've always believed in me," he said of Mercedes. "And that's something that I feel so fortunate to have because they're never trying to put me on the spot and test me to see if you crack.

"They want to build you up; they want to make sure you fulfil your potential," the four-time podium sitter maintained.