It's the middle of April and George Russell should be preparing for the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.

In normal circumstances the 2020 season would be three races deep by now with Australia, Bahrain and Vietnam behind him, but Russell's second season in Formula 1 has been more "at home, mate" than home straight.

In one of the more farcical moments in the sport's recent history, the Australian Grand Prix was cancelled just an hour before the first practice session was due to begin. Thousands of fans had made their way to Albert Park in Melbourne, only to be turned away at the very last moment.

Organisers had been forced to postpone the race due to the coronavirus outbreak, which had already resulted in the Chinese Grand Prix being rearranged. With lockdown measures confining people to their homes, it became clear that the sport could not take place in these conditions.

And now, with the first nine rounds of the season cancelled or postponed, F1's immediate future looks uncertain.

A month on from the Australia debacle and Russell is still at home. Only, he's not at his home. Instead, the 22-year-old has been holed up at his parents' in the countryside - and his fitness trainer is along for the ride.

"It's an incredible time for everybody," he told Standard Sport. "I'm with my family and trainer is here with me. He usually travels all over the world. It's a nice atmosphere, we're all healthy and that's the important thing. We've had a nice routine so far, training in the garden, doing bits and bobs in the garage and cycling indoors, so we're coping."

To some, the idea of being stuck in a limited space with their immediate family members would drive them insane. But when you're globetrotting to 21 different countries in the space of eight months, it soon becomes a luxury.

"To be honest it's been nice, I haven't spent this much time with my family since I was 15 when I lived at home," Russell explains. "My family would come to my races anyway, so it's not like I never saw them before. But I didn't see them on a day-to-day basis like I am now. I probably took that for granted as a kid."

The Covid-19 crisis has changed the very landscape of sport and how business is being conducted. Indeed, as Russell speaks eloquently about his life in lockdown via an audio link meeting, he admits he has been forced to adjust to solely communicating by digital means.

"That's been the biggest shock to the system: not meeting with friends and having a social life, as it is for everybody," he says. "I'm in daily contact with friends, over texts and FaceTime video. I joined Houseparty [a mobile app that allows several people to video chat] the other day to help me stay in contact. At the moment, time is passing by nicely."

The fast and furious nature of F1 means that drivers rarely get a time to relax when the season is in full swing, aside from the allotted three-week summer break in August. But with factories closed, staff furloughed and no racing, Russell has found himself at a loose end and the launch of the F1 Virtual Grand Prix eSeries has proved a timely and welcome distraction.

The Briton and five other racers - Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Nicholas Latifi, Alex Albon and Antonio Giovinazzi - will do battle in the third race on Sunday, the Chinese Virtual Grand Prix, which includes special guests such as Real Madrid footballer Thibaut Courtois.

Unsurprisingly, Russell is a wizard behind the virtual wheel. He finished third on his debut in the second round at the virtual Albert Park, with Leclerc - also making his first appearance - winning rather comfortably out in front. As a natural competitor, Russell now wants a taste of glory.

"My aspirations are clear: I want to be world champion."

"That's the goal, that's the aim [to win]," he said. "I signed up to the Virtual Grand Prix for a bit of fun and to keep the fans entertained. I wasn't taking it too serious, but I soon realised that the level is very high. These guys have put in a lot of practice, so I need to see how I get on.

"It's not awfully realistic when you compare the game versus driving a real racing car because when you get in, you're going 200mph. But it's all I've got at the moment."

If ever he wants to revert back to his day job, his team principal, Claire Williams, is more than happy to check in on her prodigy. "I'm speaking to Claire twice a week, we had a video chat for 40 minutes the other day about just general life. I've got a great relationship with her," he said.

While Russell impressed in his rookie season, things couldn't be going much worse for Williams. They topped their worst-ever points total of seven in 2018 by winning a solitary point in 2019. Given what has happened over the past two years, one might suggest the British team would welcome a chance to regroup. Russell agrees, saying he hopes they can "hit the reset button" while the season is put on hold.

For a team with such a wealth of history and dozens of titles in the trophy cabinet, it is difficult to watch the British team struggle at the back of the grid. But in his rookie season, Russell's drives haven't gone unnoticed. He consistently out-qualified his more experienced team-mate, Robert Kubica, and achieved his best finish of 11th at the German Grand Prix in Hockenheim.

Still, you can sense an air of mild frustration from Russell that his rivals in F2, Lando Norris and Alexander Albon, have both gone on to bigger things with McLaren and Red Bull respectively. But Russell is a well-grounded and remarkably mature character who recognises his time in the limelight will soon arrive.

"It's sort of a new generation for us young drivers," he said. "It's great that I came into F1 and racing against other people I've raced before.

"It is difficult sometimes when you see guys you competed against fairly in F2 who are now at the front of the grid and I'm at the back. But I know what it's like; it's swings and roundabouts. I'm happy to play the long game because I want a 15 to 20-year career in F1.

"I know that whatever happens now, it's not going to define me or Lando or Alex. We'll get our chance. I'll be honest and say I'm happy for them, happy that they're shining, but hopefully I get my chance too."

Russell is a member of the Mercedes young driver programme, which means the team have a vested interest in seeing him in a race seat - even if it's not in their team - as he continues his development. The same goes for Esteban Ocon, who was unceremoniously dropped by Racing Point in 2019 but is back at Renault for 2020.

There have been calls for Russell to fill the void when Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas decide to leave Mercedes. Toto Wolff remains a fan and it's clear to see why as the youngster has his sights firmly set on joining Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton in becoming a British world champion.

But he insists he is no rush to achieve his goals in Formula One. "My aspirations are clear: I want to be world champion," he says confidently. "At the moment, I'm very loyal to Williams. They gave me my opportunity to drive in F1 and I'll never, ever forget that.

"I'm associated with Mercedes and of course, they're the dominant force and every single driver in F1 wouldn't turn them down, even Max [Verstappen] and Charles. That's how much people would want to be in the Mercedes."

For now, Russell is enjoying his extended down time. But with some luck and a lot of hard work, few would bet against him being the next man to climb into the Silver Arrows cockpit

You can catch George Russell racing at the Virtual Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, April 19 at 6pm BST live on Sky Sports.