ROKiT Williams Racing driver George Russell maximised the potential in his FW42 car during Qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya

The Formula One World Championship makes the return to Europe for this weekend, where George would run an updated FW42 chassis - following a change of chassis between himself and teammate Robert Kubica for the opening Free Practice sessions at the Spanish Grand Prix weekend.

After a positive Friday, where George and the team looks closer to the rest of the pack than previously expected, George continued to impress throughout FP3 - before a spin late in the session brought out the red flags and the end to his morning running.

The team decided to change George’s gearbox before qualifying , meaning he would take a 5-place grid penalty for the race tomorrow.

Despite this, George put in a great performance in qualifying, getting the absolute most out of his package to qualify 1.2s faster than teammate Robert Kubica and only 0.3s off the Alfa Romeo Sauber of Antonio Giovinazzi. Dramatically reducing the gap from previous sessions, despite having to start from P20 due to his grid penalty.
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‍George Russell - ROKiT Williams Racing Driver:‍

"It is good to return to Barcelona, we have done a lot of laps here, and all our simulator work, so I know the place well. It was a relatively positive Friday, I think we are slightly closer to the rest of the field compared to what we were expecting. We learnt some good things from what we did test, which has given us a good understanding on what to work on.
Qualifying was a good session, considering the circumstances in FP3. Thanks to the mechanics for their hard work getting the car ready after my error in practice. However, I was really pleased with my last effort in qualifying and I felt I got the most out of the car."

Photographs Courtesy of XPB Images

Additional Press Content Courtesy of ROKiT Williams Racing