Why Russell's Mercedes F1 dream hinges on perfection

"It's just getting [to be] a joke at the moment. I've never been so inconsistent in my life. You look at the lap charts and you'd think I'm a bloody rookie or whatever. I felt like I was driving very similar lap after lap and it was like a yo-yo. I felt like an idiot. We need to seriously pull our fingers out."

The most remarkable thing about George Russell's stark words to Williams during a debrief at the 2019 British Grand Prix - immortalised in the ninth episode of the second series of Netflix's Drive to Survive - is that, in Formula 1 terms at least, he was a rookie.

The 2018 Formula 2 champion was just 10 races into his F1 career when that scene took place. After 11 more, he finished his first season in grand prix racing last in the championship, the only driver not to score, with team-mate Robert Kubica ahead thanks to his 10th place in Germany.

But the results only provide a snapshot of the campaign, which was Williams's nadir as it remained last in the constructors' championship but lost six points compared to its seven from 2018. The FW42 missed the start of testing, which led to a stunningly awkward moment between deputy team principal Claire Williams and former chief technical officer Paddy Lowe in the same Drive to Survive episode that focused on the squad.

For Russell, things were better than they appeared on paper. He beat Kubica in qualifying at all 21 events, and only finished two races behind the Pole - including crucially at Hockenheim as the disqualification of the Alfa Romeos gave Kubica his point. But, as ever with teams rooted to the back of the grid, it was the unseen moments that stood out. Russell had an aptitude for dealing with the Pirelli rubber, which he found quickly, and was relentless in improving both himself and his team, as the behind-the-scenes TV moment so superbly demonstrated.

So far in 2020, Russell again sits 20th in the standings, behind his Williams team-mate (although he is not currently last as Nico Hulkenberg's Racing Point outings in place of Sergio Perez have swelled the drivers' standings by one, with Haas's Romain Grosjean currently occupying 21st). But just as was the case last year, that is a skewed reflection of how things have gone.

Russell has again been showing off where he can - particularly in qualifying. Whereas last year his excellence against the clock was demonstrated best at the Hungaroring and that only netted him 16th and a Q1 exit, the FW43 is a significant improvement on its much maligned predecessor, and is capable of getting out of Q1. This is a feat Russell has managed four times so far in 2020, with his P11 grid spot for the Styrian GP an F1 career best, albeit one boosted by a penalty for Charles Leclerc.

The car has a qualifying/race performance imbalance that Williams is still somewhat perplexed by, which means however high Russell and Nicholas Latifi can start, they will inevitably slip back compared to their Alfa and Haas 'Class C' rivals at the back of the grid. Nevertheless, Russell is yet to finish behind his new team-mate in races where they have both made the chequered flag, with Latifi's P11 in the season opener - where Russell was forced out (pictured above) by a fuel pressure issue - keeping him 19th in the standings.

Although Russell said his battling drive to 17th last time out in Spain was "one of the most satisfying races I have completed", it is the glittering qualifying results that really stand out. Russell's pace has been clear for a long time - including in his two test outings in Mercedes' W08 and W09 cars as a junior driver in 2017 and 2018, and his two days in the W10 at the Bahrain and Abu Dhabi tests last year. This, according to Williams's head of vehicle performance Dave Robson, plays a considerable part in giving him the confidence to be so direct with Williams so early in his career.

"Sometimes you need that boldness to really get that point across - for people to recognise the importance of the issue" George Russell

"He is getting better - in everything that he does," says Robson. "And obviously the car is better than it was, which helps. But in terms of the way he approaches everything and the way he provides the feedback, it's largely the same as last year. He's quite clear on what he wants and what he needs - and he's quite rightly not afraid to say that.

"To some extent his occasional outings in the Mercedes car showed him clearly what an extremely good car ought to be like, and so we get some feedback from that. But that just reinforces his confidence in knowing what it is that he wants - the fact that he can jump in that car and be very quick compared to their race drivers."

And it was during his time as a Mercedes junior that Russell picked up the cues and insight to know when to deliver such brutally honest feedback.

"That scene is... not how I am at every single debrief, but when the time is needed, you need to make a point clear and direct and I think tone of voice can change the mindset and the strength behind the statement quite a lot," Russell tells Autosport. "And sometimes you need that boldness to really get that point across - for people to recognise the importance of the issue.

"Being in and around that championship-winning team and the mindset they have - that approach was always taken when necessary. Whether that's coming from Toto Wolff or Andrew Shovlin or whoever it may be in a certain circumstance in that engineering environment - to get the point across and direct the others to help lead the way. And of course with Lewis [Hamilton] as well.

"It's built up with trust and over time you build that relationship. And I think that's why it's so important to have such a good relationship with these guys at Williams, because when a situation like that is necessary there's no hard feelings - we can walk away and 10 minutes later have a laugh and a joke about something completely different. But we all know the main goal."

For Russell and Williams that goal is to continue the progress they have been making in the past year and a half, with the regular 'Class C' runners (the Williams/Alfa/Haas pack is rather neatly self-contained at the back, with the two Ferrari customer squads clearly feeling their power unit's deficit in 2020), just adrift of the rest of the midfield and the fight for regular points.

But Russell has another target to consider, which runs through his season, his results and ultimately his F1 career to date - reaching the heights of becoming a driver at Mercedes' ultra-successful works squad. It was the reason he joined its junior programme ahead of the 2017 season, when he began a run to back-to-back titles in GP3 and F2, which mirrored that of Ferrari's Leclerc, and with Mercedes' backing he made it onto the F1 grid with one of its customer squads. Effectively, Mercedes loaned Russell to Williams in a deal that benefited all parties, with the Briton given a three-year contract.

He will now see out the final season of that agreement in 2021, as Mercedes has opted to keep Valtteri Bottas on for a fifth year, and it's surely only a matter of time before Hamilton signs a fresh contract given he's won five titles with the team, is currently on his way to a sixth, his seventh overall, and all the other leading F1 squads have no vacancies.

So it's to 2022 where Russell must now look when it comes to his dream of driving for his long-term backer. He surely heads the list of replacement options for Mercedes should it either want to slot someone else in alongside Hamilton for that season, or replace him if he were to leave F1. But a promotion is not guaranteed.

For a start, Bottas offers Mercedes considerable stability given his strong relationship with Hamilton and his familiarity with the team. He does a superb job as a wingman to the world champion - even if he doesn't see it that way - and ideally Mercedes has been training Russell to one day replace Hamilton.

Then there's Esteban Ocon. He retains his Mercedes links despite his current Renault deal taking precedent. But that situation will end at the conclusion of 2021, putting Ocon in play for his own Mercedes promotion, though performing better against team-mate Daniel Ricciardo would help the Frenchman's case.

"Things change very quickly in this sport. So, I can't afford to slip up one little bit from this moment on until the end of next year" George Russell

All 10 F1 squads signing the new Concorde Agreement, and Williams being sold to Dorilton Capital, adds stability to the two most important teams in Russell's career right now (although Mercedes could still yet find a way to leave F1 as a team owner if it wished). But he knows he cannot afford to let his own star (Three-Pointed or otherwise) dim.

"Of course, you'd be privileged and you wouldn't hesitate to take the opportunity," he says when asked how he would feel about stepping up to F1's best team if the chance did indeed arise for 2022. "I don't like to get ahead of myself ever. I know ultimately I have to continue to do my talking on the track. Things change very quickly in this sport. So, I can't afford to slip up one little bit from this moment on until the end of next year."

What that means for next season is to make sure Williams continues its progress back towards the points - and being in a position to get in among them on a regular basis. As Kevin Magnussen proved with his point for Haas in Hungary last month, right now F1's three slowest squads need to do something drastically different or to have events fall their way - as they did for Alfa Romeo's Antonio Giovinazzi and so nearly for Latifi in the Austrian GP - to have a hope of finishing in the top 10.

"We've made a very good step this year - that's been clear already," says 2014 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner Russell. "We need to be in a position next year where we can fight for points and [be] at the middle to front end of the midfield on a more consistent basis. Arguably we massively over-achieved for whatever reason in the last few races, [and] we still need to get going, but I think the team are on the right track to do that."

The FW43 has more downforce than its predecessor and Russell felt right from the off in winter testing that it handled much better. When it comes to updating and developing the car in 2020, Williams is, as all F1 squads are, having to balance manufacturing more existing parts just to keep the team going during the intense run of events that has opened the pandemic-delayed season with finding time to build the new bits that it hopes will improve performance. This meant Russell and Latifi had to alternate the latest parts through the opening three races, although they have both had the same specification since the British GP at the start of this month.

The good thing for Williams is that the new parts it is adding to its 2020 challenger are working as expected, which is another improvement on the disaster of 2019. But, as Robson outlines, it is "not 100% sure why we see the swing" in terms of strong qualifying pace and then going backwards in the races.

"[That's in terms of] how much of it is our choices and how much of it is the way the competitors' cars behave - but we're working on it," he continues. "And certainly it's in our minds that we do need to rebalance it slightly. Although, that said, on days when it's very tight to get out of Q1 again, then actually we probably want the qualifying performance and we'll see what happens [in the races]. It's something we're conscious of and working on. But it's not immediately obvious how we best address it."

Russell is also conscious that he will have to iron out the minor errors that have cropped up during the first six races of 2020. In those events, he has gone backwards compared to his starting spot on four occasions - with a first-lap weakness a notable feature of his rookie campaign - and he picked up a five-place grid penalty for failing to slow for yellow flags after Latifi's Q1 spin at the first Silverstone race. Such indiscretions aren't generally too costly at the back of the grid, but they are punished far more heavily at the front, where Max Verstappen and Red Bull are relentlessly waiting to capitalise on any slip from the Mercedes duo.

But probably Russell's most high-profile mistake so far in 2020 followed his qualifying heroics in the wet for the Styrian race, when he went off on lap four while battling Magnussen for 11th.

"I don't like to ever give excuses," he says of that moment, which dropped him to 18th as he was caught out by an oversteer snap on the outside line of the Red Bull Ring's long left-hand Turn 6. "But that is the first time I've been in the middle of a pack for 18 months, it's the first time I've ever been in the middle of a pack of an F1 race. The amount of downforce we lose is over 50% when you're battling other cars - that's new to me.

"I battled with Robert a few times last year, but you probably lose [only] 25 to 40% of the downforce. But when you're battling with a car, and there are four cars directly in front of them, it is a completely different game. I'm not gonna sit here and give excuses why I made that error. But the fact is that's the first time I've been in the midfield in an F1 car battling. So, it's different.

"I'm not going to say it will never happen again because we all make mistakes, but I'll try to make sure it doesn't and still try to be aggressive and push on during those opening laps."

Russell has also been making a mark off the track in 2020. During the enforced shutdown he won F1's official virtual Esports series and he generated headlines in Hungary for saying his friend and 2018 F2 title rival Alex Albon was "being made to look like an idiot" with his struggles at Red Bull this season (Russell says Albon "just sent me a little message saying, 'I really appreciate what you said'. But I said it because I meant it").

The 22-year-old is clearly at home in his environment - which came across in that Williams debrief at Silverstone over a year ago - and he is growing in stature and confidence. But he knows he cannot get carried away, which isn't exactly in his no-nonsense character in any case.

"I'm in this for me and my family. And I don't put any additional pressure on for any of that" George Russell

"I don't view myself as the leader [at Williams]," he says. "I just see myself as an important element to the team, as any driver would be, trying to push the way forward with Nicholas and contribute as much as I can.

"I learned over the course of last year how to approach situations with the team - the feedback the aerodynamicists need, the vehicle dynamicists need, how to deal with the tyre group, with simulator sessions. How to deal with certain circumstances to try to improve the performance of the team, which I learn with every experience I have."

If Russell can continue in that vein, and improve on the small deficiencies any young F1 driver displays, he has every chance of paying Mercedes back for its investment in his career with a move to the Silver Arrows. There are many factors to consider, a lot of which are outside his control, but Russell is as unfazed and unequivocal as you'd expect when it comes to suggestions that he is considered Hamilton's natural successor at Mercedes.

"I don't put any additional pressure on because I know the importance it has for British media, Silverstone [as the home of the British GP, where ticket sales are boosted by a home driver performing well], because of what Lewis has done," he explains.

"Regardless, I'm in this for me and my family. And I don't put any additional pressure on for any of that. I just go there to do my job, ultimately drive the car as quick as I can."