Picture Credit: Twitter
Mercedes have had a difficult start to their 2021 campaign as they find themselves 44 points behind championship leaders Red Bull. Valtteri Bottas has been struggling this season which has brought his seat at the Silver Arrows under a lot of scrutiny. It had been reported earlier that the Brackley-based team are considering to fast-track the move of getting Williams driver George Russell on board and the announcement could be made during British GP 2021.
Nothing will be announced in Silverstone: Russell
Reacting to the news, the 23-year-old has finally broken his silence with the British GP approaching this weekend. In a conversation with F1 Nation, he jokingly claimed that the news about him signing for Mercedes is 100 percent true as he had put pen to paper five to six years ago when he had signed as their junior driver.
However, he did reveal that nothing has been talked upon with regards to his next year's seat and there won't be any announcement this weekend. “As everybody knows, they look after me. But, with regards to my drive for next year, nothing has been signed or sealed and nothing will be announced in Silverstone, so I can let you know that,” Russell said.
Russell confident about Williams' progress in future
As of now, George Russell is focused on his time at his current employers - Williams. Although the former world champions have been on a downward trajectory in the last few years, the 23-year-old is quite hopeful about side's progress in coming times. He said, "The change of structure and everything that’s going on at Williams is fascinating. Obviously, the team have finished last for the past three years in a row. I’m pretty confident that will not be the case next year."
Russell admitted that things are really making a turn for the better at Williams. "Things are really getting in line and in place. Jost (Capito, team principal) is doing a fantastic job building that structure for everybody to be more efficient, more streamlined. And every single decision that’s been made so far I think has been a good one for the right reasons. I see no reason why, over the course of the next number of years, Williams can’t fight their way back to the front,” he concluded.
The Williams driver has come very close to earn his side's first points of the season in last few races. Often known as the man who shines on Saturday during qualifying, Russell has come quite close to a top 10 finish, claiming P12 and P11 in France and Austria respectively. The British driver would certainly be hoping to open his account for the season at his home Grand Prix in Silverstone this weekend.