{"id":812021,"date":"2021-09-07T10:40:29","date_gmt":"2021-09-07T09:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/?p=812021"},"modified":"2021-09-07T10:44:49","modified_gmt":"2021-09-07T09:44:49","slug":"george-russell-on-his-mercedes-chance-its-no-secret-i-just-want-to-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/articles\/single-seaters\/f1\/george-russell-on-his-mercedes-chance-its-no-secret-i-just-want-to-win\/","title":{"rendered":"George Russell on his Mercedes chance: ‘It’s no secret, I just want to win’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Formula 1’s<\/a> worst kept secret was finally confirmed today with news George Russell<\/a> will join Mercedes<\/a> next year, alongside seven-time World Champion Sir Lewis Hamilton<\/a>, for the Silver Arrows\u2019 first-ever all-British line-up.<\/p>\n

And while it\u2019s no doubt a dream pairing, with the Mercedes prot\u00e9g\u00e9 against the brand\u2019s top gun, it could still end-up a nightmare for the squad to manage (\u00e0 la Hamilton, and Nico Rosberg<\/a>) \u2013 with Russell cut from the same cold, unyielding steel as his countryman, and neither interested in being number two.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe clear goal is to become a Formula 1 World Champion,\u201d said the 23-year-old, exclusively to Motor Sport, <\/em>ahead of the contract announcement.<\/p>\n

\u201c[To do that] I want to make sure I\u2019m the best version of myself physically, as a racing driver, off-circuit as well, and how I work with the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so important, because all of these things have to be aligned to excel on the circuit. And I recognise you need that team, that you\u2019re just another cog in this massive chain that makes the success, and you\u2019ve got to work at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n \"RUS\n
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Russell has been “driving my heart out” at Williams for three seasons<\/p>\n

\n Grand Prix Photo\n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

Russell has already had a taste of blood, too, having put the sword to his then-Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas<\/a> as a one-off stand-in for a Covid-affected Hamilton at last year\u2019s Sakhir Grand Prix<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There, Russell\u2019s maiden win went begging due to a botched pit stop and Pirelli puncture. But, his future was sealed after he qualified on the front row, within 0.026sec of Bottas, despite never before driving the W11, and then passed him twice in the 87-lap race including off the line into Turn One.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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From the archive<\/h2>\n \t\t\n\t\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow Lando Norris got even faster & captured a new\u00a0F1 generation\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t
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Lunchtime and a visit to the McLaren Technology Centre. It is a treat that never grows old. The cool sci-fi calm of the long, lakeside boulevard peppered by some of…<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAugust 2021\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIssue<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
By\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDamien Smith<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n<\/article>\n <\/div>\n
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\u201cI think the feeling [at Sakhir\u2019s Outer Track] was I want to fight for victories; I want to fight for pole positions. And in a way it felt quite natural,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWeirdly, when I came off the line, I was leading the race, and it didn\u2019t even cross my mind I was leading a Formula 1 race. It brought me back to my junior days when I was fighting for victories every single weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think as a race driver, when you put your helmet on, you\u2019ve just got to go as fast as possible, overtake anyone who is in front, and try to defend from anyone who is behind. I guess only afterwards I recognised that was quite surreal, that we came in at such a last minute, and that I did a pretty respectable job. So, it\u2019s no secret, I just want to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Russell feels confident in replacing Bottas, who is heading to Alfa Romeo<\/a> from next season on a multi-year-deal, with the Brit having seen Hamilton up-close \u2013 from the inside \u2013 as a Mercedes prot\u00e9g\u00e9 since 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say the biggest thing I\u2019ve learnt from my days when I was a junior driver at Mercedes is just seeing Lewis not solely relying on natural talent,\u201d Russell said.<\/p>\n

\n \"Mercedes'\n
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The man from King’s Lynn made short work of Valtteri Bottas on his one Mercedes appearance thus far<\/p>\n

\n HAMAD I MOHAMMED\/POOL\/AFP via Getty Images\n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

\u201cHe was one of the first into the [Formula 1] paddock, one of the last to leave, [his] work on every single detail with his team to make him better, to make the car better, and to make the lap times faster.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s this big perception from the outside that he just rocks up, jumps in the car and flies around. But, it really isn\u2019t the case. He\u2019s got an immense amount of natural talent, but he works incredibly hard to achieve even more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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The 23-year-old from King\u2019s Lynn in Norfolk isn\u2019t afraid of hard work having spent the last three seasons \u201cdriving his heart out\u201d at Williams<\/a> \u2013 where he\u2019s not just united the squad, but wrung the car\u2019s neck for top results like his stunning Q3 lap at a sodden Belgium that led to a maiden podium.<\/p>\n

\u201cI entered Formula 1 with lots of confidence, having won GP3 and Formula 2, but when I got to [the top] I recognised\u00a0every single driver was a champion at some point in their career and this is the best of the best,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd just because I\u2019ve won F2 and GP3 doesn\u2019t mean I am going to come here and have an easy time. I think the difficulties of 2019 reinforced that view that Formula 1 is not easy. You have to go the extra mile to do something. And I think that has consistently motivated me these past three years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, though, Russell knows there\u2019s no point in getting caught-up worrying whether Mercedes could be toppled in F1\u2019s brave new era \u2013 instead keeping faith in the squad\u2019s strength, and the ultimate aim of the regulations.<\/p>\n

\n \"RUS\n
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A second in qualifying at Spa was converted into a podium \u2013 Russell is anticipating fighting at the sharp end on a much regular basis<\/p>\n

\n Grand Prix Photo\n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure there will be surprises when we hit the ground at the first test or first race. But, it\u2019s about how you deal with that difficulty and that change,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously the regulations have been so stable for the past few years, but [I\u2019m] almost entering with an open mind and trying to just improve from there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a really exciting time for Formula 1. I think everyone wants improved competition and it would be amazing to see every single team capable of winning races. That would be the dream, to put the emphasis on the drivers to go out and make the difference.”<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Four years as Mercedes junior, three with Williams, now George Russell is ready to step up to the top table \u2013 and he’s unequivocal in his aim<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18729,"featured_media":812030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[118712],"tags":[115462,124317,343],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812021"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18729"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=812021"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":812076,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812021\/revisions\/812076"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/812030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=812021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=812021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=812021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}