F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Russell happy with Williams 'execution' in Bahrain

George Russell was predictably confined to the lower tier of F1's midfield in Bahrain, but the Williams driver nevertheless believes his team's race was "very well executed".

Russell's efforts in qualifying allowed the Briton to exit Q1 and line up P15 on Sunday's grid, a position he held for most of the race, enjoying scraps with Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel and seizing P14 from the Aston Martin driver five laps from the checkered flag.

Russell had given it his best shot but acknowledged that a better result would have been hard to come by on merit.

"I thought it was a pretty well-executed race to be honest," said the 23-year-old.

"In the middle stint, that's when I had that little battle with Kimi. I was on the fresher tyres and of course you lose three or four seconds or so due to that, which is a bit unfortunate, but it wouldn't have changed our outcome.

"I think given the pace of the car, given the conditions, I think it's a very well executed weekend, that was probably the maximum we could have expected. As I said, it's going to be a bit of a yo-yo season for us".

Looking ahead at the next venue, Russell ventured to guess that Imola's high-speed corners could help Williams' performance.

"It's very different to Bahrain, they're at opposite ends of the spectrum, you know," he said.

"Imola has a lot of high-speed corners, the angle of those corners are less - its more 90 degree corners as opposed to the 180-degree corners as we see in Bahrain," Russell stated.

"It's very enclosed with all the trees and the buildings around, so we go to the extremes really."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.

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