2019 Williams driver George Russell admits he never lost hope for a promotion to Formula 1 next season despite the current uncertainty surrounding Esteban Ocon.
Both drivers are members of Mercedes’ young driver program but while Ocon is thought to be ahead of the Briton in terms of earning a future seat with the German manufacturer, it is Russell that is only expected to be on the grid as the Frenchman is dropped by Force India.
“I thought the whole Esteban situation wasn’t a normal situation,” the 20-year-old told Autosport.
“Usually if you perform, those opportunities will be there. I think it was out of his and Mercedes’ control what happened.
“Mercedes and Toto [Wolff, team boss] were absolutely clear that if I performed the opportunity would come. That impressed in my mind.
“It might sound a bit silly saying that off the back of Esteban’s predicament, but that was a very bizarre situation, a very unfortunate situation.”
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Another thing that helped Russell maintain confidence in his future was the move for fellow Formula 2 racer Lando Norris into a race seat at McLaren.
Currently, George is leading the feeder championship and is likely to be crowned in Abu Dhabi next month and that position, he felt, also worked in his favour.
“I saw it as a massive positive when Lando got his opportunity with McLaren,” Russell claimed. “We’re both rookies, McLaren believe he is capable of taking a race seat for them [so] that must bode very well for myself.
“I wasn’t bitter or disappointed he had that opportunity before me because at that point I was unsure what the future held,” he added. “But I saw that as a positive, that this made me look extremely good.”