George Russell hopes to get his chance to race at the front in Formula 1, admitting seeing his F2 rivals there already is “difficult”.
Last year, the top three from the 2018 F2 championship all made the jump to F1, with Russell arriving as champion after beating Lando Norris and Alex Albon to the title.
However, in an uncompetitive Williams, the Briton would be the only driver on the grid not to score a point, while Norris and Albon regularly featured inside the top 10.
“It’s sort of a new generation for us young drivers,” he told the Evening Standard this week. “It’s great that I came into F1 and racing against other people I’ve raced before.
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“It is difficult sometimes when you see guys you competed against fairly in F2 who are now at the front of the grid and I’m at the back.
“But I know what it’s like; it’s swings and roundabouts. I’m happy to play the long game because I want a 15-to-20-year career in F1.
“I know that whatever happens now, it’s not going to define me or Lando or Alex. We’ll get our chance. I’ll be honest and say I’m happy for them, happy that they’re shining, but hopefully, I get my chance too.”
A key reason why Russell isn’t too concerned is he has a top seat essentially reserved for him at Mercedes when either Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas opt to leave.
“My aspirations are clear: I want to be world champion,” he stated. “At the moment, I’m very loyal to Williams, they gave me my opportunity to drive in F1 and I’ll never, ever forget that.
“I’m associated with Mercedes and of course, they’re the dominant force and every single driver in F1 wouldn’t turn them down, even Max [Verstappen] and Charles [Leclerc].
“That’s how much people would want to be in the Mercedes.”
