09/11/2020
NEWS STORY
Not only is George Russell a star in the making, at least according to two-time world champion, Fernando Alonso, the Williams driver is also one of the grid's good guys.
Ahead of this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean has revealed that Russell remains the only driver to message him support after Haas announced it was to drop the Frenchman.
"I've had a good relationship with George," says Grosjean. "When the announcement was made that I wasn't going to be with the team next season, he was the first and only one to send me a WhatsApp message. That really shows that he's a great guy."
Of course, following his crash during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, Russell was in need of some support of his own.
"I know how painful it is to crash under a safety car period," says Grosjean, "especially when it's going to be your first point of the season.
"I believe it was the same for me at Baku in 2018," he adds. "In the lower part of the field, you really need to work the tires a lot. I've said it many times, if I was doing Baku again, I'd probably do the same thing as I did three seasons ago.
"George didn't do anything crazy, but he just lost the car. It was a tough day for him, but he'll have plenty more (good days) to come."
A winner at Istanbul in GP2, Grosjean is looking forward to returning in an F1 car.
"I think it's going to be an outstanding circuit, another really good one," says the Frenchman. "It's very high speed, there's ups and downs, different kerbs - again, everything you need to have.
"There's some low speed at the end of the circuit for some good overtaking. I think it's going to be a very good weekend."