Russell reveals "biggest lesson" of F1 career

George Russell has revealed the "biggest lesson" he learned from a tough F1 stint with Williams.

The 24-year-old endured a difficult start to his career after being placed at Williams on a three-year deal that saw him lap at the rear of the field for the majority of his tenure.

The situation was exacerbated by the fact Russell won the GP3 and F2 titles in the two years previously.

Speaking on the High-Performance Podcast of his experience of going from the front of a grid to the back, the now race-winning Mercedes driver said: “The biggest lesson was probably that success is all relative.

"When I grew up as a young go-kart driver and going up the ranks through F4 to F2, success was being on pole position and winning, and when I got to Formula 1, that just was not achievable in the Williams in that season.

“So I couldn’t come away from every single weekend being disappointed with myself because I’ve not been on pole and I’ve not won the race. You have to readjust, not your goals, but your expectations."

During his time with Williams, Russell acquired the nickname 'Mr Saturday' for his ability to seemingly outperform the car and achieve elevated grid positions, even if these placings were near impossible to maintain across a race distance.

“You have to find your own successes," he added.

"I would celebrate when I was only half a second away from 18th on the grid rather than being a second away because that was relative success. And for me, that was like a pole position.

“If I didn’t celebrate those moments, that 21-race season would have felt incredibly long, and that helped me to get through that season and to progress as a driver.”

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