The ‘emotionally brutal’ F1 moments that made Russell stronger
George Russell believes some “pretty brutal” emotional moments in Formula 1 over the past two years helped mould him into a stronger driver ahead of his Mercedes move.

Russell has stepped up to a full-time Mercedes F1 seat for the coming season after spending the last three years racing for the customer Williams squad.
Russell’s performances at Williams won him widespread acclaim throughout the F1 paddock, and convinced Mercedes to partner him with Lewis Hamilton five years after joining its junior programme.
While performances in Hungary, Belgium and Russia served as high points of Russell’s season in 2021, the points breakthrough for Williams came after some bitter missed opportunities in the preceding two years since joining the team in 2019.
Discussing his development through his three-year stint at Williams, Russell spoke of the importance of moving on from setbacks quickly, saying there were a few moments that “stuck out”.
Russell picked the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix at Mugello as a race that “probably went under the radar to a lot of people” after he dropped out of the points late on. It would have been his first F1 points finish, and Williams’s first since Germany 2019.
"We made a really strong start, and then there was the incident, and I was actually running in the points for the majority of the race,” Russell said in a roundtable interview including Motorsport.com at the end of last year.
“I think I was in P10 for the majority of the time. And then [Charles] Leclerc has to pit for some reason, he wasn’t catching up, so I was in P9 during the red flag for [Lance] Stroll’s incident.
“Then I made a bad start, and that felt like it was our one opportunity of the year, because we didn’t really have opportunities up to that point. It was like the opportunity just went and we’ll never get the opportunity.
“It was our one chance. That was a really tough one after that race.”

Marshals clear the damaged car of Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes W12, from the gravel trap
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
Russell also picked out the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola in 2020 as another tough moment “for obvious reasons”, having crashed out behind the safety car when running 10th.
Following Hamilton’s positive test for COVID-19 ahead of the Sakhir Grand Prix in December 2020, Russell was handed the chance to step up to the senior Mercedes team and prove himself in front-running machinery.
Russell qualified second and was dominating the race before a strategy miscue by Mercedes and a late puncture denied him a likely victory. He reflected on it as being an “emotional rollercoaster”.
"Everything that went on that week, the spotlight being shone on me, the constant scrutiny on how I’m performing, the amount of work that has gone in just to get the seat fixed and learn all of their procedures, working with the engineers getting buttons on the steering wheel, understanding the car - that was a hell of a lot of be going through," Russell said.
“That was draining just in itself, and obviously the race all looked pretty hunky dory and everything was under control at one point. For it to just all disappear was pretty difficult.”
Finally, Russell highlighted his second crash at Imola in the 2021 race - when he collided with Valtteri Bottas while fighting for ninth place - as another big moment he had to recover from.
“These are the four moments in my three years that stick out to me that were pretty brutal emotionally,” Russell said.
“it was just learning how to deal with that. I look back on Bahrain with no frustration or no hard feelings.
“It’s something that I guess has moulded me into a stronger driver.”
Russell would ultimately secure his first points for Williams in Hungary last year after the team capitalised on chaos at the start and a race of attrition to get both cars in the top 10.
After finishing eighth in Hungary, Russell would stand on the podium in Belgium after a stunning qualifying lap secured him second on the grid that would be maintained under the two laps completed behind the safety car.
Further points followed for Russell in Italy and Russia, giving him a final total of 16 for the season to mark the most successful year for a Williams driver since 2017 and help the team finish eighth in the constructors’ championship.
Related video

Norris: Sainz one of the best drivers in F1
How Fangio set the bar for Schumacher and Hamilton in F1

Latest news
Rolex 24: Ganassi Cadillacs top final GTP practice at Daytona
Renger van der Zande produced fastest lap for Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac in the new GTP class’s final systems check before tomorrow’s 61st Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.
Harvick still 'the guy' at SHR, but Briscoe finding his voice
It wasn’t that long ago Chase Briscoe was just hoping to secure a fulltime ride in the NASCAR Cup Series and he could soon be the veteran driver at one of the sport’s top organizations.
WEC assessing Sebring alternative for US round from 2024
The FIA World Endurance Championship has admitted that it is examining alternatives to Sebring for the US round of the series from 2024.
Taylor: "Worn out" error reset button better than Rolex 24 limp mode
Ricky Taylor has zero worries over the pace of the new Acura ARX-06, but believes the new GTP cars will encounter several sensor issues over the course of the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.
Why Vasseur relishes 'feeling the pressure' as Ferrari's F1 boss
OPINION: Fred Vasseur has spent only a few weeks as team principal for the Ferrari Formula 1 team, but is already intent on taking the Scuderia back to the very top. And despite it being arguably the most demanding job in motorsport, the Frenchman is relishing the challenge
The crucial tech changes F1 teams must adapt to in 2023
Changes to the regulations for season two of Formula 1's ground-effects era aim to smooth out last year’s troubles and shut down loopholes. But what areas have been targeted, and what impact will this have?
Are these the 50 quickest drivers in F1 history?
Who are the quickest drivers in Formula 1 history? Luke Smith asked a jury of experienced and international panel of experts and F1 insiders. Some of them have worked closely with F1’s fastest-ever drivers – so who better to vote on our all-time top 50? We’re talking all-out speed here rather than size of trophy cabinet, so the results may surprise you…
One easy way the FIA could instantly improve F1
OPINION: During what is traditionally a very quiet time of year in the Formula 1 news cycle, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been generating headlines. He’s been commenting on massive topics in a championship that loves them, but also addressing necessary smaller changes too. Here we suggest a further refinement that would be a big boon to fans
How can McLaren keep hold of Norris?
Lando Norris is no longer the young cheeky-chappy at McLaren; he’s now the established ace. And F1's big guns will come calling if the team can’t give him a competitive car. Here's what the team needs to do to retain its prize asset
What difference did F1's fastest pitstops of 2022 make?
While a quick pitstop can make all the difference to the outcome of a Formula 1 race, most team managers say consistency is more important than pure speed. MATT KEW analyses the fastest pitstops from last season to see which ones – if any – made a genuine impact
When F1 'holiday' races kept drivers busy through the winter
Modern Formula 1 fans have grown accustomed to a lull in racing during winter in the northern hemisphere. But, as MAURICE HAMILTON explains, there was a time when teams headed south of the equator rather than bunkering down in the factory. And why not? There was fun to be had, money to be made and reputations to forge…
What Porsche social media frenzy says about F1’s manufacturer allure
Porsche whipped up a frenzy thanks to a cryptic social media post last week, and though it turned out to be a false alarm, it also highlighted more just why manufacturers remain such an important element in terms of the attraction that they bring to F1. It is little wonder that several other manufacturers are bidding for a slice of the action.
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.