George Russell believes Mercedes is more patient with its Formula 1 junior drivers compared to Red Buꦰl🉐l’s “cutthroat” approach.

Russell, who has had much of his career ba✅cked by Mercedes, rose up the single-seater ladder by winning back-to-back titles in GP3 and Fo🍸rmula 2 before earning his F1 bow with Williams for this season.

Speaking about fellow F🐭2 graduate Alexander Albon’s hefty ꦉpractice crash following Chinese Grand Prix qualifying, Russell said the way Red Bull handles its young driver programme is “a bit more cutthroat compared to usual”.

“Alex is doing a really great job at the moment,” he added. “I think e🐻verybody is aware of the pressure that is seen upon Red Bull juniors, so you understand why they are always 120 percent every single time they set foot in the car.

“It’s not that🔜 I don’t feel pressure [from Mercedes]. At the end of ꦿthe day if I am not performing Mercedes aren’t just going to keep me there.

“But when I opened the F2 season in Bahrain last year and it was a poor weekend and the same in GP3 in Barcelona [the year before], the response from Toto [Wolff] was ‘don’𒁃t worry about it, it’s the first race and a look season, and make sure you do better next time’.

“I was expectin𓆉g a bollocking when I walked into his office. I can’t speak for them but it’s the perception looking at hist🐷ory of how they do things.”

Albon, who recovಌered strongly from his Shanghai setback to record his second consecutive points finish with 10th place on race day, said thജat he has got used to dealing with pressure after finding himself fighting to seal a full-time contract in F2 last year, having initially only been handed a race-by-race deal.

Tℱhe British-Thai driver went on to record four victories and finished third in the championship standings behind Russell and McLaﷺren’s Lando Norris.

“I’ve been under pressure before, even last year I was racing for my seat every weekend so I couldn’t sit back,” Albon replied when asked for a response to Russ👍ell’s comments.

“I’ve kind of got us♒ed to it and I’m quite comfortable in myself and confident in myself🌱 so I’m not too worried about that.”

Despite fi🧜nding himself in a difficult situation amid Williams’ dismal start to 2019, Rusღsell says he sees no reason to apply additional pressure on himself in a bid to impress Mercedes.

“I feel the same a꧂mount of pressure entering a qualifying session as I did in F2 or GP3,” Russell explained. “You want to do your best and get the most out of it ꦕand I know I’ve just got to do the job.

“Ther🐠e’s no need to add additional pressure to impress anybody more than I am doing. My goal is to get the most out of it and if I do that I’m happy.”