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Russell will race his first race in the Mercedes colors this weekend, following his temporary transfer from Williams to replace Lewis Hamilton, who was infected with the Corona virus.
Russell has been a part of Mercedes’ junior program since late 2016 and during his impressive Formula 1 career he has been extensively linked to a possible leadership transition for the German manufacturing team in the future.
The 22-year British contract with Williams expires at the end of the 2021 season, allowing him to move to Mercedes for the 2022 season, alongside Hamilton.
This has sparked speculation that this weekend’s race in Bahrain may represent an opportunity for Mercedes to compare Bottas and Russell in the same car, as these are qualifiers between the two for the future team seat.
But Mercedes team manager Toto Wolf denied that this was the case, explaining that a race or two, if Hamilton could not return to the Abu Dhabi prize, would not constitute a meaningful comparison.
He said, “No, not at all. I heard that rumor and of course it cannot be described as qualifying when it comes to a race or two.”
“It doesn’t give you any meaningful data. If George gets it right, it will be a sign that one day he will be in a good car, and hopefully he will compete for wins and world championships. But that’s a long way off. He knows that.” You just need to perform well and consistently, make no mistakes, and continue as long as you do. “
He continued: “These are not qualifiers. We have full confidence in Valtteri, and sincerity as always. That is our position.”
It’s worth noting that Russell opened the Sakhir Grand Prix by leading the two free trial classes on Friday, but downplayed that, stating that the free trial times are “misleading.”
Bottas finished the first free trials within three-tenths of a second behind Russell due to damage to the floor of his car, and then his fastest times were canceled in the second trials to finish 11th overall.
When asked how he would reassure Mercedes Bottas if Russell beat him this weekend, Woolf expressed his confidence in Finn’s mind.
He said: “Valtteri was never the person who needed reassurance. He knew his position well, he also knew his place in the team and how we support each other. To be realistic, George is a very talented driver so he is expected to be fast, meet the team and stuff. ” A circuit with times of 50 seconds, so you just need to be in the right place at the right time with the optimal engine settings. “
