After topping the time-sheets for Mercedes in the final day of the Bahrain in-season test, George Russell says much of what he’s learned he can take back to Williams Racing in hope of lifting his team off the back of the grid.
Part of the Mercedes driver programme, Russell swapped his struggling Williams FW42 for the championship leading Mercedes W10. With it, he was able to set a time of 1:29.029, and although George says timings mean little in testing, he did enjoy being on top.
“Timings don’t mean a lot in testing; however, it’s always a special experience to be on top of the time-sheets,” said Russell.
The in-season test was the first opportunity for teams to learn more about their 2019 packages away from a race event. While Russell believes it was beneficial for Mercedes in their quest for a sixth title, the rookie believes he personally learned a lot, too.
“We had a very productive day today, the team learned a lot of things to help them progress. Driving a different car than usual, I personally also learned a lot which I can take back to further improve my driving.”