Russell wanted to leave Williams after 2020, but had no choice

George Russell had hoped to be more competitive in his first three years in Formula 1, but employer Williams had a difficult year. The Briton knew in 2020 that the following season would also be very difficult for him. He hinted that he wanted to leave the Grove-based racing team. Contractually this was not possible.

"In hindsight, three years driving on my own at the back of the grid was too long. But, unfortunately, Claire [Williams] did quite a good job at the contract negotiations, and there was sort of no way out", Russell said at Beyond the Grid. The now 24-year-old driver signed a multi-year contract, making it impossible for him to drive for another team in 2021.

Patience is being tested

If Mercedes had signed Russell, it would have been very easy for him to make the switch. However, Toto Wolff and his men opted for Valtteri Bottas alongside Lewis Hamilton in 2021 and so Russell had no choice. What followed was another lonely season in the rearguard, although he did manage to finish in the points four times.

In 2018, Williams is already having a very mediocre season with Felipe Massa and Sergey Sirotkin, but that didn't stop Russell from signing with Williams anyway. "“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."

Russell to Mercedes

In that respect, the current Mercedes driver was disappointed, but all in all he believes that 2022 was the right time to join the reigning Brackley World Champion. The new regulations make it easier for Russell to match Hamilton's level of performance, as last year's car was already designed to his wishes. Now Russell can have much more input and (partially) mould the car to his own wishes.