George Russell makes a BOLD claim: F2 does not prepare drivers for the challenges faced in Formula 1
George Russell has spoken out about how Formula 2 is not doing its bits in preparing young racers for the bigger picture in Formula 1.
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Formula 1 is widely regarded as the king class of motorsports, reigning way higher than all the other leagues such as Formula 3, Formula 2, and even Formula E. For any aspiring driver, the most followed path involves participation in the various karting tournaments at a very young age, and from there, they work their way up to F3, F2, and only the most talented and fortunate drivers get their chance to join the elite line-up of only twenty racers in Formula 1. George Russell got that opportunity when he was only 20 years of age after attaining victory at the FIA F2 Championship in 2018.
George Russell’s debut alongside the legendary Polish driver Robert Kubica at Williams, a team with a massive legacy to live up to, was a chance of a lifetime for the Norfolk native. But his team could not provide him with a car that would help him compete with his former F2 colleagues Lando Norris and Alex Albon who were in McLaren and Red Bull at the time. Still, Russell made the best of his resources at Williams and in 2021, he got his first F1 podium at the Belgian GP.
As the second Mercedes driver serving as a teammate to his childhood idol Lewis Hamilton, George Russell now knows what it takes to shine in this elite sport. Thus, he has commented, “I think the biggest shock for me in getting to Formula 1 was on the technical front. You are dealing so much with all of the data in front of you, understanding the tyres, the tyre prep, the bulk temperature, surface temperature, all of those things that you had no idea about in Formula 2, because the information just purely wasn’t there.”
George Russell believes there is no comparison between the sheer speed in F1 and F2
Despite winning his first podium with the team he debut in F1 with, George Russell had to go through a number of obstacles to finally get to where he is today. While talking about the big changes he had to face when he made the shift to Formula One from his F2 days, Russell said, “It’s definitely a huge step in terms of speed. In Formula 2, with such limited track time – I wouldn’t say you were necessarily guessing, but you don’t really have that chance to learn and know exactly what’s needed for each situation. So that’s certainly difficult for F2 drivers.”
The biggest F2 star that has made it into Formula 1 in recent times is Oscar Piastri. The Australian has been the Champion in F3 2020 as well as in Formula 2 2021, and he joined McLaren replacing fellow Aussie Daniel Ricciardo. Other than Piastri and Russell, another Formula 2 Champion who is currently in F1 is none other than the new AlphaTauri recruit Nyck deVries who got his title in 2019.
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Riddhi Mondal
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