After Lewis Hamilton tested positive for Covid-19, 22-year-old George Russell stepped into his shoes in Bahrain.
He excelled from the moment he went out on track in Bahrain, and would have won had it not been for a horrendous pit-lane mix-up from the Mercedes.
After being put into fifth place, he could have still probably pulled it back but he then got a puncture leading to Racing Point’s Sergio Perez, taking his first victory.
In an interview, Russell said he was “gutted” but “incredibly proud” and on Monday morning he would wake with his “head held high”.
Russel also said he had “loved” racing at the front – including the “nice” overtake he pulled on team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who finished in eighth.
After qualifying 0.026 seconds behind Bottas, many Formula 1 fans thought Russell and Bottas would make the podium in first and second positions but after a radio mix up involving Bottas’ front tyres being fixed to Russell’s car, this wasn’t the case.
In a post-race interview, a very annoyed Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, said: “it was a colossal **** up,” as he went on about the pit team not knowing to switch tyres
“What a race. Unfortunately, this time it didn’t go our way.”
The last race of the season takes place next weekend in Abu Dhabi and it is yet to be announced if Hamilton will make a return.
