George Russell identifies one major aspect in F1 that comes as a "shock" for F2 graduates

George Russell feels one of the major areas that shock drivers as they move from F2 to F1 is the technical aspect. The cars in F2 and F3 are sophisticated pieces of machinery in their own right but when it comes to F1, things take a significant step forward. There is a vast amount of data available for the drivers and so are the variables that contribute to the final lap time.

George Russell fortunately had a somewhat smoother transition from F2 to F1 as he moved to Williams first. Being part of a backmarker allowed the young driver to make mistakes, learn from them and get better.

Talking about the jump to F1 for the F2 drivers, Russell felt that one area that proves to be a bit of a shock is the technical aspect. He told the media (via RacingNews365.com):

"It's definitely a huge step in terms of speed. But I think the biggest shock for me in getting to Formula 1 was on the technical front. You are dealing so much with all of the data in front of you, understanding the tyres, the tyre prep, the bulk temperature, surface temperature, all of those things that you had no idea about in Formula 2, because the information just purely wasn't there."

George Russell on areas that need to be improved in F2

Talking about the specific shortcomings of the junior category, the Mercedes driver felt that maybe bigger access to data points could help improve the learning factor for the drivers.

To add to this, George Russell was quite critical of the impact the lack of running has on drivers in the junior categories. He said:

"[I have] mixed feelings about the lack of data in F2, whether that's a good thing or not. But I think I would like to see those guys get the chance to have some of the sensors that we have in Formula 1 because, we know in Formula 1, a driver could be half a second a lap quicker, purely by getting the tyres in the right window or not."

He added:

"In Formula 2, with such limited track time – I wouldn't say you were necessarily guessing, but you don't really have that chance to learn and know exactly what's needed for each situation. So that's certainly difficult for F2 drivers."

George Russell won the F2 championship from Lando Norris in 2018 and since then the driver has made gradual progress year after year to find himself in a Mercedes at this stage of his career.