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Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez clinched his first Formula 1 victory at the Sakhir Grand Prix when Mercedes failed in what should have been George Russell’s first victory.
The 22-year-old Brit, who replaced Lewis Hamilton after the world champion contracted the coronavirus, was on track to clinch a victory against a safety car at the end of the race.
Mercedes did not have to pit its cars, but chose to do so in what was intended to be a safety decision.
But they put the wrong tires on Russell’s car and then failed to adjust a new set to that of his teammate Valtteri Bottas, who had to put his old tires back on his car.
Russell had to stop again next time to fit in a correct set, and the Mercedes were now down in fourth and fifth place, Bottas ahead.
Russell could still have won the race, but a puncture when he was trying to chase Perez sent him backwards. He worked his way up to ninth place for his first F1 points, but that will be a meager payoff after so much drama.
Perez, who had to pit at the end of the first lap after being hit by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at turn four, was remarkable.
But the Mexican, who still doesn’t have a seat next season, drove a magnificent race, working his way across the field and was poised for a brilliant third place before Mercedes ran into trouble.
Renault’s Esteban Ocon took second place on his first F1 podium, with Lance Stroll joining his Racing Point teammate Pérez on the podium.
A terrible turn for Russell
It was an agonizing day for Russell, who has made an enormous impression on his Mercedes debut.
Russell missed pole position by just 0.026 seconds, but took the lead at the first turn after making a better start than Bottas.
Russell controlled the race from there and was on his way to a comfortable victory before Mercedes fumbled in what should have been another double.
Russell drove through what was meant to be Mercedes’ only pit stop and was five seconds ahead of Bottas when Jack Aitken, only racing due to Russell’s temporary switch to Mercedes, turned his Williams into the final corner and took off. his front wing against the barrier. and the security car was deployed.
Mercedes opted to bring the cars together, with the intention of installing new medium tires so that they were not vulnerable on restart.
But somehow a mixed set of tires got installed on Russell’s car and he had to go back in the next time to rectify the mistake.
Bottas was behind Russell in the pits, and the team was unable to put his new front left tire on his car. When the brakes started to burn, the team had to put the previous set back on their car.
As the race restarted Russell quickly passed Bottas after the Finn made a mistake and opened at turn four, Russell went ahead through five and six and passed the chicane.
He then intercepted Stroll and Ocon and was trying to erase Perez’s lead when he was told he had a puncture to the rear left.
“I don’t know what to say,” he said on the radio. His engineer said he shared his feelings.
Bottas was struggling on his used tires and in fact lost places to slower cars behind on newer tires, falling back to eighth at the finish, just one place ahead of Russell.
He was overtaken by McLaren’s Carlos Sainz, who came in fourth, Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo and Red Bull’s Alex Albon, whose seat Pérez hopes to receive in 2021.
What a trip from Perez
Perez seemed out of the question after Leclerc looked up in an ambitious move inside on the first lap, an incident that also knocked out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who avoided the collision but then crashed only after entering the gravel trap. .
But he drove a remarkable race to get back up the field, never pitting again until lap 48, at which point he was in third place.
That brought him back to ninth place, but he again got to the cars in front, passing Stroll and Ocon, as well as benefiting from the strategies that were developed in front of him, and he returned to third place when the safety car came out.
“I’m a bit speechless,” he said. “I hope I’m not dreaming because I dream so many years being in this moment – 10 years it took me, I don’t know what to say. Incredible; after the start I thought the race was gone again but it was about not giving up and recovering.
“Luck has not been with us this year, but we won the race on merits. Yes, the Mercedes had some problems, but we had the pace to hold George.”
Driver of the day
It has to be Pérez after a pretty brilliant drive that Red Bull will surely have noticed. But Russell was outstanding all weekend in his Mercedes debut.
Whats Next?
The season finale in Abu Dhabi next weekend. Will Lewis Hamilton recover in time or will Russell have a chance to avenge his misfortune?
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