George Russell is not bothered by the noise of the Mercedes contract and move surrounding him.
The young Williams driver continues to be linked with Mercedes. This is to replace the current driver, Valtteri Bottas, whose contract expires at the end of the season.
However, Russell insisted that the links are not distracting him. In a column, he penned his feelings about what is happening.
“The noise around contracts doesn’t affect me,” Russell wrote.
“The talking is done on track. Formula 1 is a very brutal sport. There are only two spots per team, most of which are filled with absolutely exceptional drivers.
“You need to get out there every single race, every single day, every single lap and prove to everyone why you deserve to be here and why you deserve to be fighting for the Championship.
“So no matter what’s been said in the press, it’s almost in one ear, out the other. My focus is hitting the track and going as fast as possible,” he added.
Making the move
Russell achieved a career milestone after scoring his first points with Williams last race in Hungary. He believes making the jump to Mercedes comes with the small element of self-doubt, and addressed what must be done to overcome it.
“I’ve always believed in myself, but until you’re handed the opportunity there’s always that small element of the unknown. How will I deal with the pressures when the time comes?” the Williams driver wrote.
“But I felt comfortable really. When I was sitting on the grid, I felt like this is where I want to be every single week and I fought so hard to get to Formula 1 and fought so hard through my whole career and this is what it’s all about.
“I’m learning my trade at the moment, but I don’t want to be in this position my whole life at the back end of the grid. I’m here to win. It’s been two-and-a-half tough years and I feel like I’ve built a toolbox of skills that I wouldn’t have if I’d been winning races from day one.”
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