F1 2021 will be released in a matter of weeks and some of the drivers are already starting to look ahead to its hugely anticipated release.

After the phenomenal success of the Esports Series and the Pro Exhibition Races during lockdown in 2020, many of the real-life racers have begun to take an interest in Codemasters' creation itself following the COVID-19 pandemic that dramatically reshuffled the race calendar.

Williams duo George Russell and Nicholas Latifi both took part in the temporary virtual series before the 2020 FIA Formula 1 World Championship finally kicked into life, with the Englishman winning the most races overall out of all the drivers that took part.

Both have been complimentary towards the concept of competitive online racing and were surprised with how realistic the game was, relating to pressures and mind games that take place in the actual Williams car (via F1 Esports Series).

As a result, Russell and Latifi have both been looking ahead to the latest game, which will appear under the EA umbrella for the first time since 2003.

Read more: F1 2021 Video Game: Release Date, Trailer, Price, Driver Ratings And Everything You Need To Know

George Russell will be featuring in F1 2021 with the all-new Williams livery.

This aspect of the game relates to Driver Ratings - a newly introduced feature for F1 2020 which will carry over into the new game.

Similar to the FIFA Ultimate Team franchise, each racer is given an overall rating that will go towards the Drivers Market. Both Russell and Latifi were predicting their rating for the upcoming year with some quality banter being exchanged between the two.

Via Williams Racing's official Twitter account, Russell was gobsmacked to hear that he was given an Awareness rating of 99, and mocked Latifi for missing the pit lane during the red flag in Azerbaijan.

From what we saw, Russell had marginally better Racecraft and Experience having been with the team for longer with ratings of 73 and 59 respectively, while Latifi was given 54 Experience, 71 Racecraft and 83 Awareness.

Of course, these will fluctuate and inevitably rise depending on how deep into a MyTeam season you choose to progress to, but the reactions from the drivers here were priceless.

We can't wait to see more!

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