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Sunday, December 06, 2020
Russell is a victim of his team
Mercedes chaos sparks sensational winners
Formula 1 team Mercedes experienced the bitterest minutes of this record season at the Sakhir Grand Prix, allowing Racing Point driver Sergio Pérez to claim his first career victory. As the leader, Mercedes newcomer George Russell is the victim of a chaotic pit stop.
A series of breaks in the representative of Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Mercedes, helped Mexican Sergio Pérez to achieve his first victory in Formula 1. The 30-year-old driver took first place in his Racing Point in the penultimate race of the season in Bahrain on Sunday after the otherwise dominant Silver Arrows team only got mixed up with their tires during the pitstop and Russell was stopped by a puncture while chasing. . Frenchman Esteban Ocon came second in a Renault, while Sakhir Pérez teammate Lance Stroll took third place on the dusty short circuit.
For Pérez, the victory was a special satisfaction. At the end of the year, the veteran will have to leave his driving position for Sebastian Vettel, who this time was twelfth without points in the Ferrari. “I’m speechless guys,” Perez said, his voice choked with tears. “Czech, Czech, Czech,” chanted his mechanics. “I hope I do not dream. I have waited for this moment so many times,” said Pérez, who does not have a cabin for 2021: “The Mercedes had some problems, but we had enough pace to keep the others behind us.” to hold.”
The most unfortunate person of the day was Russell, who for a long time seemed like the sure winner. “I’m frustrated, absolutely frustrated. But thank you for giving me this opportunity,” Russell radioed before crouching sadly at the side of the track. He is now hoping to be able to represent Hamilton again in the Abu Dhabi final next Sunday. It is not known if the superstar, who has already been crowned world champion, will get back in shape after her positive corona tests. “If he has a negative test, he will drive. If not, then it is George,” Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said at Sky.
It was only on Wednesday that the 22-year-old Russell approved his Williams team’s approval for Mercedes, overtook his teammate Valtteri Bottas at the start and led the race for a long time with a brilliant performance. But then it all went wrong with a pit stop during a safety car phase at Mercedes. Now Russell is hoping to be able to represent Hamilton again in the Abu Dhabi final next Sunday. It is not known if the superstar, who has already been crowned world champion, will get back in shape after her positive corona tests.
“I would say it was bad luck”
A week after the shocking Romain Grosjean fire, Formula 1 prepared for another show at the same venue. The French Haas driver, who survived the terrible accident with burns to the back of his hand, will stop driving this year. As a lesson from the facts, the world association had tightened security measures in some areas of the route.
And yet the safety car had to be deployed again shortly after departure. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc ran overly optimistic into the corner and crashed into Perez’s Racing Point. During the evasive maneuver, Max Verstappen slipped to the limit, for the Dutchman and Leclerc the working day was over. “I would say it was bad luck,” Leclerc said. Verstappen, for his part, said: “Charles was too aggressive and slowed down too late.”
At the top there was already a representative of Hamilton, Russell. The Briton had passed his teammate Bottas early on and also defended his lead when the safety car rolled off the track again. On the outer track of the Bahrain International Circuit, which is just 3,543 kilometers long and first used by Formula 1, Russell kept his rival Mercedes at arm’s length.
Meanwhile, Ferrari star Vettel was stuck in midfield, like so many times this year. If he had improved to ninth in the confusion after the early accident, he soon had to let the fastest competitors go again and came in twelfth. The Hessian had not started during training and its engine had to be replaced due to a technical problem.
Mercedes box kills Russell for victory
And it didn’t get any better for the 33-year-old. When he reached the pitstop after 32 laps, his mechanics made mistakes more frequently than before, causing Vettel to lose precious seconds. Russell quickly overtook him for the first time on the ultrashort circuit, where a Formula 1 lap takes less than a minute. The front runner drove a remarkably flawless run and did not allow the Bottas pursuers to get close to attacking distance. The fact that Russell is a little too big for the cabin of the four inches smaller Hamilton and therefore had to wear slightly smaller shoes was not shown in his lap times.
But then Mercedes suffered unusual breakdowns. Because Russell’s representative at Williams, Jack Aitken, lost his front wing, the safety car went out again. Mercedes asked both drivers to change tires for the second time because their lead was so great. But the mechanics got mixed up with the tires, it took them forever to stop Bottas and they even had to call Russell to the garage because the tires were changed. Suddenly, Pérez led the race ahead of Renault driver Esteban Ocon and his teammate Lance Stroll. Bottas was now fourth, ahead of the angry Russell. “You should have a tire advantage,” the Mercedes command post radioed. Russell replied, “I hope so.”
And indeed: When the runway was clear again, Russell immediately grabbed Bottas, then Stroll and Ocon. But shortly after the disappointment: Punctures, end of all hopes. That cleared the way for Pérez.
