Williams F1 backmarker George Russell will replace Covid-19 self-isolating Lewis Hamilton at this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix. The 22-year-old British driver is also part of the Mercedes F1 junior program and has mighty big shoes to fill. Hamilton wrapped up a record-equalling 7th driver’s championship this season and has won 11 out 15 races contested. Russell has no points to his name as he approaches his second full season in F1. But he has displayed dignity and class in the poorly conceived machinery provided to him by Williams F1. And his performances have earned him priority over the far more experienced official Mercedes reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne.
Many F1 critics have labeled the current Mercedes W11 EQ to be so superior that anyone who drives it is guaranteed to win. Now we will see just how good the W11 EQ is in different hands and we will all see if George Russell can win in the all-conquering-most-superior car on the 2020 grid. Russell makes few mistakes and has carried the burden of the Williams F1 history squarely on his young shoulders.
He is the right candidate to fill in for Lewis Hamilton, and has enough racing experience despite his relative youth. He should at the very least get a podium. But a show of youthful exuberance over the course of the Sakhir GP weekend could be his undoing. On getting the Mercedes part-time drive Russell tweeted:
“nobody can replace this guy, (Lewis Hamilton) but i’ll give it my all for the team in his absence from the moment i step into the car”.
No George, you did replace “this guy” albeit for one race only.
<blockquote
class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hear from <a
href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeRussell63?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GeorgeRussell63</a>
as he reacts to this morning's news.<a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SakhirGP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SakhirGP</a>
🇧🇭 | <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreWilliams?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreWilliams</a>
💙 <a
href="https://t.co/1v9OyBvTrQ">pic.twitter.com/1v9OyBvTrQ</a></p>—
Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) <a
href="https://twitter.com/WilliamsRacing/status/1334033182770012161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December
2, 2020</a></blockquote>
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