WOLFF: RUSSELL NEEDS MORE TIME TO LEARN HIS F1 CRAFT
Mercedes boss says British hopeful is in the perfect place to develop his skills
Toto Wolff insists that Mercedes junior driver and current Williams Formula 1 racer George Russell is not a contender for a seat with the works team in 2020.
The Mercedes motorsport boss believes it is too early to put Russell, who is starring at the troubled Williams team in his debut F1 season, in the spotlight alongside Lewis Hamilton and risk “burning” him.
Wolff says Mercedes is facing a straight choice between keeping Valtteri Bottas and promoting reserve driver Esteban Ocon, and he believes that Russell should continue learning at Williams, where he has an ongoing contract.
“You’ve got to consider that these guys come into F1 at a very young age,” said Wolff. “And there are exceptions to the norm, such as Max Verstappen, who was given the environment at Toro Rosso to learn, and to make mistakes, and even at
Red Bull was given [the same].
“I don’t think you are given the possibility to learn in a Mercedes because you’re being put in a car that is able to win races and championships, in a high-pressure environment.
“It can go terribly wrong for a young driver that has the talent to become a world champion if he’s thrown into that environment next to the best driver of his generation.
“And I wouldn’t want to burn George. Equally, he’s in a good place at Williams, he helped them to come back to form, learn and appreciate when a car functions well. I try to be respectful to all contracts we sign, and we signed a contract. We knew what we were doing with Williams, and this is where he’s going to learn.”
Wolff confirmed that Mercedes faces a difficult straight choice between Bottas and Ocon in the coming weeks.
Wolff said: “We’ve been discussing it within the team, and I’ve been wrestling with myself on what is the right thing for the team, and what is the right thing for the drivers.”