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Ran his first race at Mercedes as a substitute for the coronavirus Lewis Hamilton George Russell He finished second in the time trial and overtook his teammate Valtteri Bottas at the start. He was also able to separate from the field in the first stage and switch wheels three laps ahead of Bottas, thus increasing his lead over him for about eight seconds.
However, when ordering a safety car phase, Mercedes decided to quickly change the wheels of its two drivers. However, due to a mistake, Bottas’ wheels entered Russell’s car, so the British had to re-enter a lap later, dropping back to fifth place.
He then struggled to cross the field, but due to a puncture, he had to replace his tires for the fourth time, for which he had to reach ninth place. Russell has led the race for the first time since he became Formula 2 champion in 2018, and so far he has led Williams to the back of the field.
When asked by Motorsport.com how it felt to be on top of the field again, Russell replied: “It was good to be there, to lead the race, it hasn’t been like this in a long time. But it’s also weird on a certain level, because while obviously our goal is to win, it’s also a person’s goal to get into the best position available with their car. “
“In the 18 months I spent at Williams, I had fantastic races finishing 12 or 14. What came to us was victory. Or when it reaches Q2, it is pole position for us. You also get a massive boost from that performance. But victory is a completely different level. “
“However, I didn’t want to get away from myself, I focused on my work. He had about half the race or an eight-second lead over Valtteri. I thought it was too good to be true. And it was really too good to be true. “
Russell was able to get past Bottas in the first corner after the start, and after the race he revealed that he was more afraid of the start because he had always been weak at it, plus the clutch levers were specifically designed for Hamilton in Car:
“The start was a stage in the race that made me nervous all weekend. I used Lewis clutch levers that were placed on his hands and fingers, they did not fit my hands properly. “
“Or I did a hundred initial exercises on the machine installed in my room, nothing crossed my mind, just to practice, practice, practice. I’m very happy to have got off to a good start and to have been able to pass Valtteri on the inside corner ”.
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