George Russell has been confirmed by Williams Martini Racing as one of their drivers for the 2019 season.
The twenty year old has had a successful career in both karting and BDRC Formula 4, also becoming the McLaren Autosport BDRC Award winner.
The Briton also took on a Test and Reserve Driver role with the Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport team in 2017, when he also took the GP3 series title.
He is currently leading the FIA Formula 2 Championship that supports the Formula 1 calendar, with one race weekend remaining in Abu Dhabi.
“It is a huge honour to join a team of Williams’ prestige and heritage. Formula One has been a life-long dream.
“From watching races when I was a child, it feels surreal that I will now be lining up on the grid, alongside drivers who I have admired for years,” said Russell.
He added: “I would like to thank Claire [Williams] and everyone at Williams for making this decision, as well as Toto [Wolff] and the team at Mercedes for their fantastic support throughout GP3 and Formula 2.”
Russell is confident that this opportunity will jump start his Formula One career, and is looking forward to the start of next season.
“I am incredibly excited to be working with everyone at Grove and and to take my first steps as a Formula One race driver. I cannot wait for Melbourne next year and to join Williams at what we believe will be the start of an exciting new journey.”
Claire Williams, Deputy Team Principal with the Grove-based team said of Russell’s appointment: “I am delighted to announce that George Russell will be joining Williams for the 2019 season.
“We have always tried to promote young talent in the paddock and George fits that ethos perfectly. In the time we have spent with him so far, we believe he will be a great fit for our team; his commitment, passion and dedication is exactly what need to drive the positive momentum building at Grove as we focus on the future,” said Williams.
