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Time of India
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
'He wanted to go'- Former Williams's Dy team principal Claire Williams recalls how she lost George Russell to Mercedes
Former Williams's Dy team principal Claire Williams recalls how she lost George Russell to Mercedes (Image Source: Getty) With Mercedes F1 driver George Russell almost making it big for himself, podium after podium, the former Williams' Deputy Team Principal, Claire Williams , recently opened up about how she had tried retaining Russell, but he had plans of joining Mercedes. Claire Williams says George Russell wanted to go to Mercedes George Russell had joined F1 in 2019 but didn't score points early with Williams. While Mercedes was interested in racing Russell, alongside Lewis Hamilton, Claire Williams didn't want to let him go. Operation Sindoor Conflict widens, India targets Lahore, Pindi, Karachi after foiling multiple Pakistani attacks Army foils Pakistan's attempts to send swarm drones across LoC Operation Sindoor: Several airports in India closed - check full list She believed Russell was a top driver and stood firm to keep him at the team for as long as possible. While speaking on F1's Beyond The Grid podcast, Claire revealed: 'George wanted to go to Mercedes in that last couple of years and I couldn't let him go and I hated that, It makes me upset to think about it. I needed him, I felt, more than Mercedes and he was in contract. If I let him go, what message would that have sent? What would that have done to my team if I'd have let George go?' She said: Claire Williams: Proud of Williams' Progress | F1 Beyond The Grid Podcast 'He was one of the greatest things that we had at Williams. When you go into a negotiation with a team like Mercedes and they're not offering you what they should be for your A-star driver, then why would you just let him go? What kind of Team Principal would I have been if I'd have just let George go because Mercedes said, 'we want George now'. That's not how it works, is it?' Claire Williams says George Russell was upset Claire Williams explained that it was a difficult time in her life, knowing that George Russell was upset, and while she had to stand her ground, she couldn't see him be more upset. She said: '[George] was clearly upset and it was really difficult. It was very hard to stand my ground because if someone comes to me and they're upset, and it's because of me because I'm a blocker, it's really hard – but I had to put my team first. 'As much as I would have loved to have made George's dreams come true, I couldn't at the time, and that was one of the hardest parts of being a Team Principal for me. And I always said to George: you will be grateful for this one day because it will build resilience in you, it will build strength.' Also Read: Mercedes driver George Russell introduces his dream car worthy car worth $2.7 million, shares drool-worthy pictures of the blue beauty
Daily Mirror
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Kimi Antonelli received handwritten note from Lewis Hamilton before Miami GP achievement
Lewis Hamilton made a poignant gesture to his Mercedes replacement Kimi Antonelli after contending with the emotions of leaving the Silver Arrows after 11 years Lewis Hamilton left a "special" welcome message for Kimi Antonelli amidst the swirl of emotions surrounding his departure from Mercedes after an 11-year stint. The British racing icon dropped a bombshell last season when he announced his move to join Charles Leclerc at Ferrari for the 2025 Formula One season. Hamilton's revelation sent shockwaves through the sports world, yet it also allowed the seven-time world champion to experience a sort of farewell tour during the season, knowing it would be his last as a Mercedes driver. The depth of his emotion was particularly evident after the Italian Grand Prix, which concluded the European leg of the 2024 season. Stephen Lord, Mercedes' race team co-ordinator and one of Hamilton's closest colleagues, shared insights into his post-race behaviour in a special episode of Beyond The Grid, highlighting the moment of realisation about his impending exit that led him to embrace a team member. With Mercedes having a race base in Europe where drivers have personal rooms kitted out for them, the thought of seeing his room for the last time overwhelmed the Brit with emotion. "Lewis had finished engineering," recounted Lord. "I think the engineers had left so Lewis was upstairs in the room on his own. I popped up, grabbed a couple of bits, came back down the stairs, and Lewis came down the stairs ready to leave and head home. "He got to the bottom of the stairs and he stopped, then he turned around and went back upstairs. I thought, 'He's forgotten something,' didn't think much of it. He came back down about 10 minutes later and he grabbed a guy that works for the team, Carlos, who's our head of race team logistics. "And you could see that Lewis was really quite emotional and he grabbed Carlos and said, 'It's only just occurred to me, I'm never going to see that room ever again. I'm really emotional. I can't leave. I feel kind of sad to walk away from that room because I've been in that room for so many years and I'm never going to see it again.' He was really quite touched that he was leaving it behind." After making his departure, Lord discovered Hamilton's touching gesture of leaving a handwritten note for Antonelli – who became the youngest driver ever to secure an F1 pole position for the sprint at the Miami Grand Prix, marking a record-breaking weekend for the 18-year-old. "I walked into the room and on the wall there's quite a long, handwritten note," he continued. "It was a note to Kimi and it was basically welcoming him to his new room, and it was wishing him the best of luck, saying some really nice things about the team and how, 'If you care for them, they'll care for you because they're a great team.' "I thought, 'Wow, what a nice thing to do.' And actually, we've had glass cut and it's now covered in the room, so it will be there forever more. I thought I'd just go into the bathroom and make sure that everything's been packed away and we've got all we need. "I walked into the bathroom and next to the toilet, above the toilet roll holder was, 'Lewis was here,' with a big smiley face, and I thought, 'Okay, I like that.' But the note to Kimi was pretty special." While Hamilton has found it tough going at Ferrari this season, amassing just 41 points so far, the young starlet has been turning heads alongside George Russell in his first F1 season. Currently sitting sixth in the World Drivers' Championship, the Italian is seven points clear of his predecessor and notched up sixth place in the Miami GP, as well as seventh in the sprint race after earning pole position for it. He's outperformed Hamilton in five out of the six F1 races this year, with their next showdown set for Imola later in the month.
