Williams Racing’s George Russell features in F1 Beyond The Grid podcast where he discusses current time, Mercedes relation, DTM drive, driver relationship and more.
- The host of the show, Tom Clarkson, asked Russell about his feelings after the first triple-header as he responded with positive intent, particularly after Hungary – a race at which his pace was strong.
- He discussed his history with the Hungaroring and specifically, his test with Mercedes back in 2018, in which he broke the lap record.
- On a similar note, he covered how he became part of Mercedes, even after he thought he would have to go the way of DTM. In doing so, he shared an anecdote of his first proper conversation with Toto Wolff at an awards show in 2015.
- He also answered the tough question of whether or not he’d be ready for a top drive were he to be called up – and Russell didn’t hesitate to reply, ‘yes’.
- The young driver spoke on his strides in performance on a personal level, before discussing Williams’ obvious improvement over the F1 off-season.
- Later, Russell spoke on the pace of his teammate Nicholas Latifi, who he says has impressed him in the early race – he was, however, complimentary of his previous teammate Robert Kubica, whom he says he has learned a lot from.
- Russell addressed his relationship with Alex Albon, and his remarks on the Thai driver after the Hungarian GP qualifying.
- Looking back at his karting career, he discussed competing against Lando Norris’ brother, and his own brother, who often claims he is the fastest Russell.
- He was hesitant to react to previous comments from Claire Williams, who said that he bested any of the other Williams drivers in history, before discussing his relationship with Sir Frank Williams – a team principal who has worked with all of the F1 teams’ drivers.
- After this, he told the story of his first trip to Silverstone, and discussed where the track ranks among those on the calendar.
- As the podcast neared its end, Russell covered the sim racing in the lockdown period, and explained why so many drivers were able to come out of their respective shells.
- On the greater topic of driver expression in the media, Russell proposed a camera angle that shows the faces of drivers, rather than a communications system between drivers as some have proposed. He feels the whole Albon episode showed why drivers are reserved in media and how lockdown showed that they can enjoy and speak their mind.
- Russell also spoke about a turning point in his career in the junior championships with regards to his driving style and approach to races.
Here’s the link of the podcast as FOM doesn’t allow to use it: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hdWRpb2Jvb20uY29tL2NoYW5uZWxzLzQ5NjQzMzkucnNz/episode/dGFnOmF1ZGlvYm9vbS5jb20sMjAyMC0wNy0yODovcG9zdHMvNzY0MzE2NQ?hl=en-IN&ved=2ahUKEwipzYbE0fTqAhVC7nMBHZkGD5wQieUEegQIAxAE&ep=6
Here’s the last episode of F1 Nation
Here’s the last F1 Beyond The Grid podcast with Willy T. Ribbs