Former McLaren driver David Coulthard believes George Russell can benefit from settling into Formula 1 in a low-key manner at Williams.
The 2018 F2 champion was the only man not to score a point last season as a result of the British team's ongoing lack of competitiveness at the back of the grid.
Yet despite that, he was still able to impress by beating his teammate Robert Kubica 21-0 in qualifying and by as much as a full lap in some races.
"I think he's a great talent who is cutting his teeth in Formula 1 largely off-screen," said Coulthard at last weekend's Autosport International Show.
"He's too good that he doesn't even crash to get himself on television.
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"His talent is so strong that, with his relationship with Mercedes, I think it will be fine," the Scot noted.
"He - against Kubica who came back from that terrible rallying accident - had a benchmark driver in terms of speed, and George showed consistently that the key thing was being able to qualify.
"He just showed time and time again that, irrespective of the car, when the pressure was on to deliver a lap time, he was able to do that.
"I have absolutely no doubt that being a little bit out of the spotlight was just really giving him a little bit of time to understand Formula 1."
Of course, it's not great for Russell's psyche to be permanently stuck at the back while others like Lando Norris and Alex Albon find themselves in top seats near the front of the grid.
But when the 21-year-old does get his chance in a better car, Coulthard expects him to be well prepared.
"He's a young man right now and there's no question that in a few years' time he'll be more able physically and mentally to take on the challenge of a competitive F1 season," said the Channel 4 pundit.
"I think that's something that we tend to underestimate on a lot of occasions, managing the fatigue that comes across a long season when you're in a championship battle.
"And I think that is where Lewis [Hamilton] has been so strong relative to his teammates."
