Former Williams team principal reveals how she effectively became a roadblock in George Russell’s move to Mercedes

George Russell currently drives for Mercedes and is one of the leading forces on the F1 grid, but started his F1 journey with a lowly Williams F1 team. However, this switch could have potentially happened a bit earlier, as former Williams team principal, Claire Williams, revealed how she had to block Russell's move to the German giant while the Briton was contracted to the Grove-based squad.

The three-time F1 race winner started out at Williams in 2019 after winning the GP3 (now F3) and F2 championships as a rookie. Russell showcased his potential through stellar performances in his debut year but was held back by the FW42's slow pace.

With his links to Mercedes, George Russell hoped to earn a promotion to the Brackley-based squad soon. Moreover, such an instance came during his tenure with Williams.

This was possibly during his latter stint at Williams to replace Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes. But, with the English team having a contract with Russell for the subsequent year, Claire Williams revealed how she had to block this move from happening. She said (via the Beyond the Grid podcast):

"It makes me upset to think about it. I needed him, I felt, more than Mercedes and he was in contract. If I let him go, what message would that have sent? What would that have done to my team if I'd have let George go?"

"That's not how it works, is it? [George] was clearly upset and it was really difficult. It was very hard to stand my ground because if someone comes to me and they're upset, and it's because of me because I'm a blocker, it's really hard – but I had to put my team first," she added.

On the other hand, when George Russell joined Williams, the team was a shadow of its former self on the F1 grid.

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What was George Russell's salary in his first season with Williams?

George Russell at the F1 Grand Prix of Japan - Source: Getty

With the British team flailing under Williams' family administration in the last few years, the team worked with a small budget to stay afloat. This impacted driver salaries as the team tried to cut down costs.

Moreover, Russell, being a rookie driver in 2019, took a heavy toll on his salary. The 27-year-old revealed last year he received a five-figure salary compared to F1's now common seven-figures, as he said (via Express):

"In my first year of F1, I was on a five-figure salary and actually lost over six figures in that first year from paying for my trainer, paying for flights, paying for an assistant. And that's probably the case for 25 per cent of the grid."

Dorilton Capital then bought the Williams F1 team at the end of the 2020 season, and George Russell moved to Mercedes in 2022.