George Russell has spoken of the "biggest shock" facing Formula 1 drivers who have arrived into the sport from F2. The Briton is amongst those on the grid to have graduated from the junior category, having won the championship in 2018 ahead of Lando Norris and Alex Albon. All three moved up to F1 in 2019. In terms of the rookies joining the field in the 2023 season, Oscar Piastri, Nyck de Vries and Logan Sargeant have all competed in Formula 2 in recent years. Reflecting back on how it felt to make the step up, Russell believes that there is a huge difference in a driver's technical understanding between the categories.
'Biggest shock' of switch from F1 to F2
"It's definitely a huge step in terms of speed," Russell told media, including RacingNews365.com . "But I think the biggest shock for me in getting to Formula 1 was on the technical front. "You are dealing so much with all of the data in front of you, understanding the tyres, the tyre prep, the bulk temperature, surface temperature, all of those things that you had no idea about in Formula 2, because the information just purely wasn't there."
The 'difficult' issue facing Formula 2 drivers
In light of this, Russell has questioned whether F2 drivers could benefit from having more access to data before progressing to Formula 1. "[I have] mixed feelings about the lack of data in F2, whether that's a good thing or not," the Mercedes driver added. "But I think I would like to see those guys get the chance to have some of the sensors that we have in Formula 1 because, we know in Formula 1, a driver could be half a second a lap quicker, purely by getting the tyres in the right window or not. "In Formula 2, with such limited track time – I wouldn't say you were necessarily guessing, but you don't really have that chance to learn and know exactly what's needed for each situation. "So that's certainly difficult for F2 drivers."
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