The polite lad with the notebook off to Mercedes
Claire Williams fondly recalls George Russell’s visits to her office in the Williams F1 motorhome back when he was an ambitious young colt racing in GP3 and Formula Two, the Formula One feeder series. “He used to bring this little notebook with him,” Williams says. “He’d always drop in on the first day [of a race weekend] and ask if he could come and see me at some point over the weekend.
“And then, once we’d fixed a time, he’d come along with his little notebook and we’d have a nice general chit-chat about life, but he’d also make sure to say how much he wanted to join the team and why we should pick him and so on.”
Williams laughs. “It was always such a pleasure to have those chats with him.
“It wasn’t one of those situations where you thought, ‘Oh for goodness’ sake, could you stop bothering me!’ Because he wasn’t that kind of person. He was so diligent.
“And I loved the notebook. I loved how presentable he always was, and how eloquent. And that, for me, was lovely.”
That tenacity and fastidiousness — not to mention basic good manners — have paid off spectacularly.
After three seasons punching above his weight, never complaining about his lot or the fact that other rookie drivers were being given better cars than he was, Russell has got his dream move.
The 23-year-old is off to partner Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes F1 from next year. Classy as ever, Russell’s first words in public after the announcement was made yesterday were to thank Claire and her father, Sir Frank Williams, for giving him his F1 break.
Claire was not actually aware of his comments. Having taken the heartbreaking decision to sell the team to United States-based investment firm Dorilton Capital last summer — ending her family’s involvement in the sport going back over four decades — she says she no longer watches or follows F1. At least for now.
“I find it really difficult,” she confesses. “Sometimes the races will be on. Dad will have them on in the background, or my husband will.
“But I don’t tend to tune in. I’m one of those people that once the door is closed for me, I don’t want to dabble or be on the outside.”
She is only sorry she was not able to give Russell a car worthy of his talent.
“George deserves it. It’s been a long time coming. And I’m sorry I didn’t help with that.
“But having had those years at Williams, when it was really challenging and difficult for him and for everybody, I think it will set him up well.
“I always said that to him, you know, when he would be looking at his peers, when they had been given better seats on their arrival into the sport, which was probably really mentally difficult for George, I always said: ‘You’re going to have the better platform because you’ve known what it’s really like to struggle. You’ll never take anything for granted when you do become successful’.”
— Telegraph Group UK