George Russell on why it was 'difficult to digest' Alex Albon and Lando Norris' initial success 

George Russell struggled quite a lot during his time at Williams. Since the Briton was part of the Mercedes family, he drove for Williams in his younger years. However, seeing his friends like Alex Albon and Lando Norris excel in front-running teams was quite difficult for him.

Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Russell expressed how difficult it was to see other young drivers progressing further in the sport as he struggled at Williams. Since he fought and even beat drivers like Alex Albon and Lando Norris, witnessing their progression was even harder on him. He said:

"I think I’ve always had quite a rational view to things and while seeing Alex and Red Bull scoring podiums, and being the man to a degree, and Lando equally, always in the points, and that was sort of difficult to digest."

George Russell opened up about his time at Williams and how difficult it was for the team to survive in the sport. Though Williams has a rich history in the sport, they are nowhere near the level they used to be at in the past. The Briton spoke about how the team barely survived each and every race weekend. He said:

“That was a really unique season for my first year in Formula 1, joining Williams, and a team that was on the brink of bankruptcy. And it was a team of every single race weekend, it was racing to survive, it wasn’t racing to perform. The team was racing to survive and the 800 people’s jobs at stake."

Thankfully, Mercedes promoted George Russell to their team in 2022. He brilliantly beat Lewis Hamilton during a tough season and even grabbed his first race victory in Brazil.

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George Russell opens up about Mercedes' struggles in the 2022 F1 season

The entire F1 fanbase was shocked to see Mercedes struggle during the 2022 F1 season. One of the most dominating F1 teams had several aerodynamic issues that hampered their pace massively. They were only able to win a single race in Brazil. Speaking on the High Performance podcast, George Russell expressed the tension and stress that ran through the team during the season. He said:

“I think, for sure, the dynamic would have been slightly different had we arrived at the first race and had the fastest car on the grid. There has been a huge amount of late nights throughout this season. A lot of tension at times between drivers, teams, and designers with regards to are we on the right track – do we need to be doing something different, more drastic?"

Mercedes' critical situation forced Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to join hands and work together to get the team back to the top.