Official: George Russell at Williams in 2019
The young British driver, George Russell, a Mercedes protégé, has been confirmed as a main driver by the Williams team for the 2019 Formula 1 season.
The current leader of the Formula 2 championship, George Russell, is the first driver announced by Williams for the 2019 season. The Mercedes protégé will therefore be the third British driver on the grid next year alongside Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.
Russell therefore sees his dream become reality: “It is a great honor for me to join a prestigious team with a great heritage like Williams. Formula 1 has been a long-standing dream for me. I watched the races when I was a child and it’s incredible to think that I will now be on the grid, among drivers I have admired for years. I would like to thank Claire and everyone at Williams for the faith they have placed in me and, of course, Toto [Wolff] and the Mercedes team for their fantastic support in GP3 and F2,” said the 20-year-old Briton.
The Williams team is of course delighted to welcome this new prodigy that many other teams would have liked to have in their ranks: « We have always tried to reveal and help young talents, and George fits exactly this profile. He is highly regarded in the paddock and has been followed for a long time. We realized, after spending a lot of time with him, that he would fit perfectly with Williams. We are very excited to welcome George and move forward. » Claire Williams stated.
Mercedes has therefore succeeded in placing one of its young drivers in Formula 1 next year. Could the next announcement at Williams be about Esteban Ocon joining the British team? The competition from the two Russian drivers, Sergey Sirotkin and Artem Markelov, might prove insurmountable for the Norman.
Announcing… #WelcomeGR63 pic.twitter.com/lPRKGlKvi7
— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) 12 octobre 2018
