Williams: Russell very close to Hamilton's early F1 career level
Dave Robson, Williams’ head of vehicle performance, believes George Russell is achieving “very close” to Lewis Hamilton’s early Formula 1 career performances and “has the potential” to emulate his subsequent success.


Robson worked at McLaren during Hamilton’s time as a junior driver with the team – where he would go on to make his F1 debut in 2007 and win his first world title a year later.
When discussing Hamilton’s achievement of sealing 100 career F1 pole positions at last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, Robson explained how it had been clear from early in Hamilton’s time with McLaren that there was “something” he “always had” that suggested the Briton had potential to succeed in motorsport.
Robson also said he had seen similar traits in Russell – a junior driver for Hamilton’s Mercedes operation and regularly tipped to follow in his footsteps with F1’s leading team – when he first met Russell ahead of his rookie F1 season in 2019.
“I think there are definitely some similarities there,” said Robson, who was Jenson Button’s race engineer while he competed against Hamilton at McLaren from 2010-2012, with Robson remaining in that role until he joined Williams for 2015 to be Felipe Massa’s race engineer.
“And they were obvious from the first time I met George and we ran him in the simulator in Grove. Then we went up and ran him around the airfield in a road car.
“Again, there was something. There was something there.
“I think the talent is there. I think he is very close to Lewis and has the potential to get there. For sure.”
Read Also:
Robson also called Hamilton’s 100 poles record a “phenomenal achievement”.
“And to do it against some fairly impressive teammates along the way as well [is impressive],” he added.
“I've obviously not worked with him for quite a few years, but it's something he's always had, I think.
“There is just that something about him. That special quality that you can't really define.
“That was obvious right from when he was just a kid and [McLaren] took him testing at Elvington [airfield, for a straight-line aerodynamic test run] - going up and down the runway.
“He was bored stiff after 10 minutes. Whereas most kids, when you took them to Elvington, they were just chuffed to bits to be in an F1 car - even though they were just going up and down the runway.
“And he was different right from the beginning. He just has that talent and that tremendous attitude. So, take your hat off to him.
“He's an annoying customer to have on the other side of the garage, for sure. But yeah, he's a phenomenal talent.”
Related video

McLaren reveals special Gulf Oil F1 livery for Monaco GP
What Monaco GP clues can we get from Spain's Sector 3 data

Latest news
Schumacher: People too quick to criticise in F1 these days
Haas Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher believes people should take more time before dishing out criticism, especially if they don’t have all the facts.
Sauber keen to "give the best to Alfa Romeo" amid Audi F1 links
Frederic Vasseur says that Sauber is focusing to “give the best to Alfa Romeo” through its Formula 1 partnership amid links to a possible takeover by Audi in the future.
Former F1 race director Masi set for top Supercars role
Former Formula 1 race director Michael Masi is set to become the new Chairman of the Supercars Commission in Australia.
Grading F1's 2022 drivers at half-term
Over the first 13 races of Formula 1's new ground effects era, Max Verstappen has surged into the lead in the world championship over Charles Leclerc. But as the 2022 season prepares to roar back into life, who stacks up as the top of the class, and who must do better? We graded every driver based on their performances so far
Grading F1's 2022 drivers at half-term
Over the first 13 races of Formula 1's new ground effects era, Max Verstappen has surged into the lead in the world championship over Charles Leclerc. But as the 2022 season prepares to roar back into life, who stacks up as the top of the class, and who must do better? We graded every driver based on their performances so far
The 10 stories to watch out for across the rest of the 2022 F1 season
It’s 13 down, nine to go as the Formula 1 teams pause for breath in the summer break. But what can we expect to happen over the next three months from Belgium to Abu Dhabi? Here's the key storylines to keep an eye out for the rest of the 2022 season
Nicholas Latifi: The under-fire F1 driver fighting for his future
Personable, articulate and devoid of the usual racing driver airs and graces, Nicholas Latifi is the last Formula 1 driver you’d expect to receive death threats, but such was the toxic legacy of his part in last year’s explosive season finale. And now, as ALEX KALINAUCKAS explains, he faces a battle to keep his place on the F1 grid…
The strange tyre travails faced by F1’s past heroes
Modern grand prix drivers like to think the tyres they work with are unusually difficult and temperamental. But, says MAURICE HAMILTON, their predecessors faced many of the same challenges – and some even stranger…
The returning fan car revolution that could suit F1
Gordon Murray's Brabham BT46B 'fan car' was Formula 1 engineering at perhaps its most outlandish. Now fan technology has been successfully utilised on the McMurtry Speirling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, could it be adopted by grand prix racing once again?
Hamilton's first experience of turning silver into gold
The seven-time F1 champion has been lumbered with a duff car before the 2022 Mercedes. Back in 2009, McLaren’s alchemists transformed the disastrous MP4-24. And now it’s happening again at his current team
Why few would blame Leclerc if he leaves Ferrari in future
OPINION: Ferrari's numerous strategy blunders, as well as some of his own mistakes, have cost Charles Leclerc dearly in the 2022 Formula 1 title battle in the first half of the season. Though he is locked into a deal with Ferrari, few could blame Leclerc if he ultimately wanted to look elsewhere - just as Lewis Hamilton did with McLaren 10 years prior.
The other McLaren exile hoping to follow Perez's path to a top F1 seat
After being ditched by McLaren earlier in his F1 career Sergio Perez fought his way back into a seat with a leading team. BEN EDWARDS thinks the same could be happening to another member of the current grid