Hamilton sub Russell makes a declaration of intent as he leads the first practice

MANAMA – George Russell made an emphatic declaration of intent on Friday when, in his first practice outing with Mercedes, he led the times ahead of Max Verstappen at the Sakhir Grand Prix.

The 22-year-old Briton, ‘on loan’ by Williams as a replacement for seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, a victim of the coronavirus, set a fastest lap in 54.546 seconds to overtake Red Bull’s Dutchman by 0.176 seconds.

London-born Thai driver Alex Albon was third fastest in the second Red Bull while Valtteri Bottas, in the other Mercedes, worked to match his pace on the short lap high-speed track at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Bottas was three-tenths of a second behind his new teammate, just the kind of instant embarrassment the Finn wanted to avoid, on a day when Russell complained of discomfort with his seat after dropping a shoe size to fit. Hamilton’s cabin.

Russell, in his second season with Williams, has never been in the top ten or scored a point, but he has impressed many observers with his pace after graduating from Mercedes’ junior program.

Daniil Kvyat was fifth ahead of his Alpha Tauri teammate Pierre Gasly, Renault’s Esteban Ocon and Ferrari’s four-time champion Sebastian Vettel.

Daniel Ricciardo was ninth in the second Renault and Charles Leclerc was tenth for Ferrari.

After an early foray from Sainz, Ricciardo set the best starting time for Renault after 15 minutes, shortly before Russell started rolling in earnest.

The Australian cut his time to 55.8 only to see Bottas move clear at 55.1, the Finn clearly eager to establish his seniority, only to provoke a series of improved efforts from his new English teammate.

Russell was P1 after 53 minutes before Verstappen and then Albon and Russell took over, exchanging laps with some enthusiasm, the new Mercedes man clocked in at 54,546 to go faster.

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