George Russell completed a stringent practice programme for Williams Racing at the Red Bull Ring ahead of Formula 1’s 2020 season-opener in Austria.

The 22-year-old completed 27 laps in the morning 90-minute session to post a 1:06.495s run around the 4.318km-long venue, placing 17th.

In the afternoon, George clocked a further 40 laps and improved his overall lap time by 0.370s, outpacing team-mate Nicholas Latifi by 0.999s in doing so to take 18th overall after showcasing encouraging long-run pace.

Over the three hours of running with George at the helm, Williams Racing focussed on the test and refinement of a handful of set-up options for the weekend alongside the gathering of data that will be integral to the future development of the FW43.

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George Russell – Williams Racing Driver

“It was fun to get back behind the wheel and my body took a bit of time to get used to the g-force again. It was a productive and encouraging day; our low fuel pace isn’t as good as our high fuel pace, where we seem relatively competitive. By the end of the day, I was back in the groove and happy in the car. We are going in the right direction, and that was our main focus.”

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George will return to the track on Saturday, completing one final practice session ahead of qualifying for the opening round of the 2020 World Championship.