Williams eye a long-term future with George Russell as deputy boss Claire Williams describes him as “world champion material”.
The Briton joined on a two-year deal after winning the Formula 2 championship last year and has dominated Robert Kubica in the Pole’s comeback season.
But with Williams’ problems leaving them firmly at the back of the grid, it is pondered just how long they can keep Russell.
“We haven’t had any conversation about George potentially leaving the team in the short-term because he’s on a long-term contract with us,” Williams said via RaceFans.
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“George is, for me, world champion material and why would I want to lose George from our team? I would do everything in my power to keep George Russell at Williams.
“My ambition is one day, we will be able to provide George with a car where he can start competing at the top of the midfield and then hopefully compete [for] the podium. That’s going to take time, clearly, but we’ve got to have ambition.
“George is a big part of Williams’s future. We made a very clear decision when we brought George in last year why we chose George because we wanted him to be a part of this journey.
“I hope the end result of that journey is that we give him a good enough car to show his true potential.”
Russell himself might have other ideas, however, as he eyes replacing Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes, with whom he is a junior driver.
“If Toto [Wolff] called me tomorrow and asked if I was ready to drive for Mercedes my answer would be absolutely,” the Brit told PA.
“I am not going to rely on Valtteri having bad races. I am going to go out there and make it happen for myself.
“If that is not good enough then I will hold my hands up and say I didn’t do the job.
“I am on top of my game. Right now, I am 100 per cent dedicated to Williams, but if Mercedes called me up, I will be ready.”
