George Russell to make F1 debut in 2019, confirms Williams Racing

Grove (Oxfordshire, England) 12 Oct 2018: Williams Racing is pleased to confirm George Russell’s appointment to a race seat from the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship with a multi-year agreement.

The 20-year-old British racing driver will make his Formula One race debut at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix and joins Williams with an impressive racing résumé.

Following a successful start to his career in karting, George stepped into single-seater racing in 2014, winning the BRDC Formula 4 Championship at his first attempt as well as becoming the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner. George progressed to the Formula 3 European Championship for two seasons and then went onto win the GP3 championship in his rookie 2017 season with two races to spare. He stepped up to the FIA Formula 2 Championship this year, which he is currently leading, whilst also fulfilling a Test and Reserve Driver role for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport.

Speaking about the announcement, George Russell said; “It is a huge honour to join a team of Williams’ prestige and heritage. Formula One has been a life-long dream. From watching the races when I was a child, it feels surreal that I will now be lining up on the grid, alongside drivers whom I have admired for years. I would like to thank Claire and everyone at Williams for their faith in making this decision, as well as Toto and the team at Mercedes for their fantastic support throughout GP3 and Formula 2. I am incredibly excited to start working with everyone at Grove and to take my first steps as a Formula One race driver. I cannot wait for Melbourne next year and to join Williams at the start of what we all believe will be the start of an exciting new journey.”

Claire Williams, Deputy Team Principal, commented; “I am delighted to announce that George Russell will be joining Williams from the 2019 season. We have always tried to promote and develop young talent at Williams, and George fits that ethos perfectly. He is already highly regarded in the paddock and a driver whose career we have been watching for a while. In the time we have spent with him so far, we believe that he will be a great fit for our team; his commitment, passion and dedication is exactly what we need to drive the positive momentum building at Grove as we focus on the future. We are extremely excited to welcome George and work with him moving forward.”