Russell in tests with Mercedes: “Not a passing test” insists Wolff

Suffering last weekend for the final race of the season at Yas Marina, George Russell will not really have had time to breather since he got back behind the wheel of his modest Williams from this Tuesday during the traditional Pirelli tests.

The British pilot, affiliated with Mercedes since 2017, will then join the German manufacturer's factory team to ride aboard the world champion W10 on Wednesday. Russell will thus take over Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton being taken by a promotional operation. 

The former champion of Formula 2 already knows the 2019 Silver Arrow having driven it during the tests organized after the Bahrain Grand Prix at the start of the year. Russell will be on deck again with Mercedes next week as part of running days with the 18-inch tires which will be introduced in 2021. 

A natural candidate for an official seat at that time, the Williams driver will not be judged by his performance in gray in the days to come.  

« I told George, who hadn't been in top form these last few days, that this test wasn't a passing exam because we are convinced that he has the qualities of a potential future Mercedes driver, declared Toto wolff, main team of the silver house last weekend. 

He has the intrinsic speed, talent, and intelligence. He didn't win the GP3 and Formula 2 championships in his first attempt for no reason. And his track record in F1 is already very convincing. 

These runs are more of a way for him to gain experience. There is nothing to prove. George is under contract with Williams and we will always honor that agreement because they gave him a chance to start in F1. These tests should just confirm what we already know ». 

Despite these reassuring words, Russell, who finished the season with 0 points but dominated his teammate Robert Kubica during all qualifying sessions, hoped not to be too physically diminished for this new test gallop with Mercedes. 

« My health concerns worried me not only for the weekend but also for these tests, confided the 21-year-old young man in recent days. I am here to provide them with valuable data while gathering as much experience as possible and comparing it with the feeling I had in Bahrain with the car ». 

Let Russell be reassured: since the departure ofEsteban Ocon toward Renault, he no longer really has any competition in the young Mercedes driver sector.