Russell wanted to move to Mercedes sooner: 'Two years at Williams was enough'

The third and final season with Williams is over for George Russell. Next season the Brit will switch to Mercedes. However, Russell thinks he was ready for a promotion to the top team before.

In 2019, Russell came to Formula 1 as a rookie. Next year will be his first chance to compete for podiums and wins, provided of course Mercedes have a strong car after the introduction of the new regulations.

The Williams was never competitive enough to score many points, but the car gave Russell the chance to get used to F1 and learn a lot. Teammates Robert Kubica and Nicholas Latifi were far behind him and the Briton's performance on Saturday has been particularly strong this season.

Despite the many learning opportunities, Russell thinks three years with the team was too much. "After the first year I would have felt ready", he says. Yet the new addition to Mercedes knows that another year would have been better. "I'm a better driver now than I was then", he tells Motorsport-Magazin.com.

Still, the Briton thinks three years was too much. "Two years (at Williams) would have been perfect. This year I would have been more than ready to move up." Next season, Russell will be able to prove himself against his experienced teammate Lewis Hamilton.