George Russell can end Williams hoodoo at Austrian Grand Prix as Mercedes move beckons

F1 preview: A lap of the Austrian Grand Prix

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“Gutted” is a word that is appearing far too often in George Russell’s vocabulary for his liking. For a driver who has his eyes on the second Mercedes seat and a potential world championship in the future, the curse of never finishing in the points for Williams is the only blight on his promising career.

It was nothing but a case of rotten luck that the 23-year-old was denied a points finish at the Styrian Grand Prix on June 27.

Russell had missed out on Q3, the third qualifying ‘knockout’ session, by the finest of margins after being pipped by Lance Stroll by eight thousandths of a second.

For context, it would likely take longer for your brain to communicate that you need to move a muscle than the difference between the two drivers.

The driver who has been dubbed ‘Mr Saturday’ after impressing for Williams in qualifying — making Q2 in every race this season — was making an impression on Sunday too.

Having started in 11th position, Russell made up a few places due to Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly’s collision on Lap 1.

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Suddenly, he was challenging for some serious points, rather just the one.

Even with a snake of cars behind him, and probably quicker too, Russell kept his cool and car in a straight line. But when the dreaded message came over the radio, telling him that he needed to “manage” his reliability issues.

Sure enough, when he pitted from ninth position, he was sat in the pit box for 18 seconds — seconds that never would have felt as long as any others in his life.

Williams had informed him of the fact they would need to make an adjustment to the side pod but it was no consolation as Russell came out in 18th position, with only team-mate Nicholas Latifi behind.

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The long stop did not fix the problem and later, Russell was forced to retire.

It was noticeable that a few of his engineers ensured he was consoled after he climbed out of the car — they knew he would be distraught.

Any driver would be devastated to retire from a race when they are on course for points, but it has developed into an aggravating pattern for Russell.

The Briton had showed his mettle and unquestionable talent in the cockpit when he was handed a golden chance to replace Lewis Hamilton at the Sakhir Grand Prix, following the Briton’s positive test for the coronavirus.

On that occasion, he was two hundredths of a second slower than Valtteri Bottas and that was the difference between pole position and second place. Again, fine margins.

But the race was a strategic disaster for Mercedes. Russell had leapfrogged Bottas at Turn 1 and controlled the race from the start until Lap 62, when a Safety Car was triggered after Jack Aitken’s crash.

First, they fitted a mixed set of tyres on Russell’s car after choosing to double-stack the cars in the pit stop. Then, as he fought back through the field up to third, he suffered a puncture on the rear-left tyre.

“Ahhhh, I don’t know what to say,” cried Russell. The frustration was palpable. He would come home in ninth place, picking up his first world championship points in the sport — but it must have felt like 20th after being cruelly robbed of the lead.

Earlier in 2020 at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, it looked like he was on course to score his first ever F1 point for his own team this time. But this time, it was in his own words, a “stupid mistake” that was all his own doing.

Russell was in prime position to collect a point after nailing the strategy on the early pit stop, with the Safety Car being deployed after Max Verstappen’s retirement.

With another shot at a top 10 finish finish in sight, Russell attempted to warm up his cold tyres behind the Safety Car to be ready for the restart under the green light.

Whether it was a case of inexperience, tiredness or just a simple error, Russell put the slightest touch too much of lock on the steering and lost the back end, careering into the barrier.

It was not a high-speed crash but the collision would have knocked the stuffing out of Russell. After a solid performance in qualifying and the race, it his mistake and his only.

He cut a forlorn figure on the side of the racetrack, bowing his head into his heads trying to process what had just occurred.

Only Russell knows what he felt after his Styrian Grand Prix disappointment. But a week later, at the same circuit for the Austrian Grand Prix, he has a chance to put it right.

He showed good pace in qualifying and the race, with Williams looking a great deal quicker than they were in 2020. It is a testament to his ability that he is yet to be beaten by a team-mate in qualifying since his F1 debut in 2019.

Perhaps after such bad luck and a series of errors, the Red Bull Ring will be the stage for Russell to collect his first points for the team.

And when he does, you can guarantee he will won’t be feeling “gutted” — but rather, delighted.

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