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Russell performed very well at the Sahir Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton as a substitute, and he was not far from winning the race, but in the end, team guilt and a slow puncture robbed him of the opportunity.
From a Mercedes He still didn’t know on Thursday morning who could sit next to Bottas in the other car, so Russell was present in his colors on media day, but then news came in that Hamilton was producing a negative test, so had to return to its original formation.
The young Brit said he had mixed feelings about having to go back to Williams, as he wanted to spend a full weekend with Mercedes already better prepared.
“It was a strange feeling to be honest. Before Bahrain, I really wanted to have two races in the car, if only because that way I could have learned everything there, and could have come here without objection, more prepared.
“Because Bahrain did so well in terms of performance, some of me did as well as I was, of course I wanted to win, and I could have had an even better chance this weekend.”
“However, putting this aside, the Williams guys gave me the opportunity. They have worked very hard for me for the last two years. My job is to close the year well, and that’s why I’m here. “
Russell sat in the Williams FW43 and closed two and a half seconds slower than Valtteri Bottas on Friday, who was running the fastest lap in the Mercedes. The 22-year-old said it was “very different” to drive Williams again due to the significant difference in pace.
“Lap times cannot be denied, that is clear. Mercedes is the benchmark. I was very lucky to be able to go with them last time and I know which way we should go with the car. It was a good learning opportunity to experience the differences in five days ”.
Although he won his first F1 points with Mercedes, he was not sure he could succeed with Williams at the end of the season unless the cars in front of him had more serious difficulties.
“We will try everything. In the last race of the year, I think everyone was a bit desperate. Some teams are going for third place, so maybe we can see some big moves. “
“Carlos goes to Ferrari, so he won’t be so interested if his car is damaged. Ricciardo is leaving too, he won’t be particularly interested if there is something going on with his car. Who else is there? Sergio is leaving too, so we can expect a little run, “Russell explained a bit about his opponents’ mistakes.
“If we just look at the pace, we know we can’t fight for the top 10. Kimi seemed fast, as did Kevin, although that’s usually the case. We are often slower on Friday and then we resolve the situation on Saturday.”
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