George Russell: the team will not make the same mistakes in 2020

In a few figures, the team founded in 1977 by Sir Frank Williams has: 9 constructors’ titles, 7 drivers’ titles, 114 victories, and 315 podiums. But in recent years, the record has been far less glorious, even catastrophic if we look at the last two seasons: just eight points in 33 races.

So, has the British team hit rock bottom? Because they are quite painful to watch this 2019 season. The year had already started poorly as the team failed to present their car for the first week of winter testing. The rest has not been more reassuring: in qualifications, the team almost always completes the last row. The race pace isn’t any better either since the drivers regularly finish several laps behind the winner.

On the drivers’ side, the duo lined up by Williams is perhaps one of the most unbalanced in the 2019 F1 grid. F2 champion in 2018 George Russell teams up with Robert Kubica, who has little in common with the driver we knew 10 years ago. Indeed, the Pole lacks pace, partly due to a disabled arm following a rally accident. The point obtained in Germany by Robert Kubica is merely an illusion, as the English rookie regularly outperforms his Polish counterpart in both races and qualifications.

However, in a recent interview, George Russell appeared confident and assured that the team is currently working to deliver a more competitive car next year, starting from the first day of winter testing: “I am 100% sure that we will not make the same mistakes next year that we made this season. I could bet my house that we will have a car from the first day of winter testing next year. We are on a very good trajectory at the moment. Obviously, it’s always easier to make progress when you start at a low level, but the signs are good and we are on a good path,” said the Briton in Autosport.

For him, this year allowed the Grove team to solve problems on the car, issues that had been present for several years: This new start has been beneficial to the factory, to manage to set things right that might not have been correct. The team had a very fast car in 2014, 2015, and 2016, but there were problems probably flying under the radar because the car was very fast, and the engine was very good. Everything eventually catches up with you and you start looking for details when you have a situation like this, according to George Russell.

Williams must be eagerly awaiting the end of this ordeal, lacking spare parts, they even had to stop Robert Kubica during the Russian Grand Prix. The Polish sponsor PKL Orlen has also requested explanations from the team: Following Robert Kubica’s retirement on Sunday during the Russian Grand Prix, we have officially requested an explanation from the ROKIT Williams Racing team. Based on this, we will take the necessary steps to enforce contractual obligations, wrote Joanna Zakrzewska, spokeswoman for the company. These are just the preludes to an almost certain departure of the Pole, who will try to compete in other disciplines.