Russell to stay at Williams alongside Latifi for F1 2021
George Russell has confirmed he will remain with Williams for the 2021 Formula 1 season, with Valtteri Bottas expected to imminently sign a new deal at Mercedes.
Russell signed a three-year contract at the Grove-based outfit in 2019 but had been linked with graduation to Mercedes for next season, possibly as reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton’s teammate.
Mercedes is yet to announce its 2021 driver line-up, but while Hamilton and Bottas’ current deals are set to expire at the end of the year, both drivers are expected to remain at the German manufacturer.
Bottas is understood to have agreed a contract extension in principle after making a strong start to the delayed 2020 F1 season. The Finn leads the championship standings by six points over Hamilton after the opening two rounds in Austria.
Speaking during the FIA drivers’ press conference on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Russell announced he would be seeing out the entirety of his contract with Williams.
“I will be staying with Williams for 2021,” Russell said.
“I signed a three-year deal with Williams and I’ll be staying there for 2021 to build off last year and hopefully what this year hopefully turns out to be.”
Asked if he was disappointed to have been overlooked by Mercedes, Russell replied: “No I’m not disappointed in Mercedes at all, there was nothing more they could do.
“Claire [Williams] was very firm with her decision that she was not ready to let me go, and ultimately as I have a contract with Williams I have to respect that decision.
“I’m here and I will be giving everything I have this year and next year and let’s see what the future holds after that.”
Teammate Nicholas Latifi also confirmed he signed a "multi-year" deal and will remain at the team for 2021.
Bring it on 2021
— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) July 16, 2020
Looking forward to seeing these two continuing to do their stuff with the team next year #HungarianGP | #WeAreWilliams pic.twitter.com/gXzfhgjKEB
