Picking your fantasy Formula 1 team has never been harder given the amount of talent that is currently on the grid.
The influx of rookies this year has made that decision harder for some, given how well Andrea Kimi Antonelli has adapted to life at Mercedes, having earned his first pole in F1 at Miami.
Gabriel Bortoleto has also shown signs of improvement against Nico Hulkenberg, while other drivers are starting to come of age, including Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at McLaren.
There are a lot of drivers to choose from, but when asked to pick which drivers she would most like to have in her team if she were still a team principal, Claire Williams chose a surprising lineup when speaking to Tom Clarkson on the Off the Grid podcast.
Claire Williams choses Oscar Piastri and George Russell as ideal driver lineup
Williams has been home to some of F1’s most formidable lineups in the sports history, including Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost in the 90s.
Max Verstappen might be most people’s obvious choice in modern F1, given how well he is performing currently at Red Bull in the third-best car. Former Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya thinks it’s ‘annoying’ that Verstappen keeps finding performance where others don’t overnight.
But when asked about which drivers impress her the most, Williams snubbed Verstappen in favour of one pairing that has also been strong so far this season.
Clarkson: “Which two drivers on the grid impress you the most? If you were still team principal, who would you choose?”
Williams: “Oscar Piastri I just think at the moment he’s entering that zone and that’s really exciting to watch, not least because he’s managed by Mark Webber – an ex-Williams driver and they are almost like peas in a pod those two – it’s like seeing Mark all over again.
“George [Russell], I’m really excited to see where George and his performance take him over the next year or so. If Mercedes can give him the right car to take the fight to McLarens, that seems dominant at the moment. George and Oscar probably.”
Claire Williams blocked George Russell from leaving Williams
Russell made his debut with Williams in 2019, having come off the back of winning the F2 title in 2018, and was seen as the future for Mercedes.
He consistently outclassed teammates Robert Kubica and Nicholas Latifi, while he would eventually earn a podium for them at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix following an impressive qualifying and after the race was effectively rained off.
Williams said she hated having to let Russell go to Mercedes when they eventually came calling for his services, with the Briton eventually leaving at the end of 2021 following an impressive debut at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix.
Toto Wolff also previously felt Russell stayed at Williams for too long and that he should’ve been promoted sooner to Mercedes.
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