Nobody deserves F1 title more than ‘gentleman’ George Russell – Claire Williams

Claire Williams has said there is no other driver on the Formula One grid who deserves to win the world championship more than “real gentleman” George Russell.

Russell, 28, heads into the season-opening round in Australia on Sunday as the bookmakers’ favourite, with Mercedes expected to hold an advantage over rivals Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren.

Williams provided Russell with his first F1 drive in 2019. He raced for the British team for three seasons before landing a seat alongside Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.

Although Russell joined Mercedes as their stranglehold on the sport was ending, he impressed by outscoring seven-time world champion Hamilton in two of their three years together.

And last season he was the only driver outside of title contenders Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri to win a race.

“George has always had a world championship in him,” Williams, former team principal of the British team, told the Press Association.

“It has been a long and arduous road to get to a point where he is fully in contention, but in my mind, nobody would deserve it more.

“George has worked so hard, and his whole life has provided the building blocks for this moment.

“He hasn’t been one of those drivers where he has been at the right place at the right time. He started with Williams and unfortunately, he joined us at the hardest time for the team.

“But I always said to him: ‘Hopefully this will provide you with some real experience and resilience for the really challenging times to come when you need to dig deep to win races and win world championships.’

“He then went to Mercedes when they were not as dominant as they had been, but now things have changed, and George has been waiting patiently for this moment.

“He would be such a worthy world champion, but it is a long road to win that title, and he is going to have to get his head down and concentrate.

“But if anyone can do that, George can. He doesn’t do distractions, he is really smart and he knows what he needs to do to win the championship.

“He is absolutely on a par with his peers and if he has the car beneath him, he is ready to deliver.”

Claire was the de facto boss of the team founded by her father, Sir Frank Williams, up until its sale in 2020.

Williams, who revealed she will set her alarm to watch Sunday’s race in Melbourne which starts at 4am UK time, added: “George was one of my favourite drivers that I had the pleasure to work with, and I mean that genuinely.

“He was such a joy. There are no sides to him. He never thought he was more important than anyone else just because he was the driver.

“The best way to describe George is that he is real gentleman, both on and off the track, and my dad would have agreed and appreciated that. He is respectful and well-mannered, and that goes a long way in Formula One and a long way to being successful, too.

“And just imagine. We could have George going up against Lando and Lewis, too – he is looking pretty strong in the Ferrari – for the title, and that would be incredible for British motor sport.”