Breaking news
Formula 1
Wolff was "pretty relaxed" about Russell’s Williams future
Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff says he always felt “pretty relaxed” about George Russell’s future despite a brief period of uncertainty at Williams last month.
Luke Smith
Published: Nov 23, 2020, 3:01 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Russell has been part of Mercedes’ junior programme since 2017, and has impressed since making his F1 debut with Williams last year, with Lewis Hamilton saying he has “the potential to be a future champion”.
Williams announced in July that Russell would be remaining at Grove for 2021, seeing out the third and final year of his contract, only for the sale of the team in August to cast fresh doubt on his future.
Sergio Perez was linked with a switch to Williams last month amid the Mexican driver’s scramble to find a seat for 2021, leaving Russell’s future looking unclear for a couple of weeks.
But Williams cleared up any speculation and apologised for any confusion ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola by announcing Russell would be remaining for 2021 alongside Nicholas Latifi.
Losing Russell from the grid would have come as a blow to Mercedes, which has worked hard to develop the British youngster throughout his career, setting him up as a possible successor to one of its current drivers.
But Mercedes chief Wolff said he would have taken whatever decision Williams made in his stride, leaving him fairly relaxed about Russell’s future despite the uncertainty.
“I’m always pretty relaxed about these decisions, because things come as they need to come,” Wolff said when asked by Motorsport.com how much of a blow it would have been to lose Russell from the grid for 2021.
“If George wouldn’t have been in Williams, that would have been a little bit annoying.
"But I guess he would have been a very strong reserve with us, and we would have found an additional programme for him.
“At the end, I’m happy that they decided in favour of him. I think he deserves it, his performances are outstanding. I think they made a good choice.”
Read Also:
- Russell: Praise from drivers appreciated but "background noise"
- How Russell found himself at the centre of F1's silly season
Russell had stressed throughout the speculation about Perez that he had “no concerns” about his future, saying the stories had been “fed by the Perez camp” to try and help move the driver market along.
Asked by Motorsport.com how advanced talks were with Williams, Perez replied: “I’ve always kept my talks private, I think it’s the way it always should be.
“More than that, there’s not a lot of point. Nothing happened, so I think there’s not a lot of point of discussing.
“There were some talks, but nothing more than that.”
Perez is currently without a seat for 2021 after Racing Point opted to release him from his contract so it could sign Sebastian Vettel ahead of its Aston Martin rebrand.
After seeing the door at Williams close, Perez’s only realistic option of landing a seat for 2021 now lies at Red Bull, which is weighing up Alexander Albon’s future.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Hamilton: Mercedes no longer has rotation weakness
Next article Binotto: Ferrari's upswing in form encouraging for 2021 hopes
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Luke Smith
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
Formula 1
Formula 1
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Formula 1
Formula 1
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
Formula 1
Formula 1
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
More from
George Russell
F1 United States GP: Sunday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
7 h
F1 United States GP: Sunday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch
Kimi Antonelli hails "step forward" at United States GP as Mercedes chips away at upgrades
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Kimi Antonelli hails "step forward" at United States GP as Mercedes chips away at upgrades
More from
Williams
Williams has better cooling vests than anyone – Alex Albon
Formula 1
Formula 1
Williams has better cooling vests than anyone – Alex Albon
James Vowles explains request for review of F1 cost cap
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
James Vowles explains request for review of F1 cost cap
Latest news
MotoGP's final Australian GP at Phillip Island cancelled due to poor weather
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
1 h
MotoGP's final Australian GP at Phillip Island cancelled due to poor weather
2026 MotoGP Australian Grand Prix – How to watch, session times & more
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Indonesian GP
3 h
2026 MotoGP Australian Grand Prix – How to watch, session times & more
There will be even less drag in Cup cars at Talladega on Sunday
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
4 h
There will be even less drag in Cup cars at Talladega on Sunday
Kimi Antonelli delivers Austin surprise pole in tricky Mercedes: "Finally we're seeing the results"
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
5 h
Kimi Antonelli delivers Austin surprise pole in tricky Mercedes: "Finally we're seeing the results"
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe