Formula 1 driver George Russell has shared that he still has marks on his hips due to his adaptation to Lewis Hamilton’s car during the Sakhir Grand Prix in 2020. This race was his first and only appearance with the Mercedes team, at a complicated time due to the absence of the seven-time champion.
At that time, Russell was competing for Williams and was called up to replace Hamilton, who had tested positive for COVID-19. Reflecting on this moment, Russell recalled that he received the first call on Tuesday, while his first contact with the car took place the following day. ‘I didn’t fit inside’, explained the Briton.
The driver clarified that, due to his height and shoe size, he had a rather complicated experience. ‘I was wearing shoes two sizes smaller to be able to fit in the car. At that moment, everyone was asking me if I was okay. I just wanted to compete no matter what happened’, he added.
During his first qualifying session with Mercedes, Russell achieved second position, just 0.026 seconds behind Valtteri Bottas, who took pole. The Briton led the race in the early moments, but a series of unfortunate errors during the pit stops derailed his chances of victory.
Although he was close to winning the race, a final mishap left him without options. ‘I was on my way to winning and it was taken away from me. It was really hard, but at the same time I know I showed that I could compete at the highest level with Mercedes’, Russell concluded, reflecting on the impact that weekend had on his career.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
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