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George Russell
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George Russell believes he has « the heaviest shoes ever to fill » by standing in for Lewis Hamilton in the World Championship winner at the Sakhir GP.
The 22-year-old Brit, who has so far only driven for Williams in the back of the field and has not yet scored an F1 point, has vowed to take the race « step by step » over the weekend to gain his confidence and understanding to strengthen for the W11 – which he will drive for the first time in training in Bahrain on Friday, which starts at 1 a.m.. 30 p.m. live on Sky Sports F1.
Hamilton, who paused for the first GP of his career on Monday after a positive test for Covid-19, has won 11 of the 15 races this season and took a record-breaking seventh world title at a gallop last month.
And while Russell gets into the car that dominated F1 2020, he’s under no illusions about the challenge he’s facing.
In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports F1, Russell said to Simon Lazenby: « Lewis is statistically the greatest of all time. In my opinion, too, I think that he is the best all-round driver of all time.
« I’ve also seen him up close, how he drives, how he interacts with the team and everything.
« It’s obviously surreal to step into your shoes, into the car in which you won the world championship. They are the heaviest shoes that have ever been filled.
Headed by Mercedes, Russell described the Brackley team as « like my second family » after spending 2018 as a reserve driver and testing for them for the past three years.
But his last test in one of their cars was last December and so this year’s W11 – a challenger built and tweaked around Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, both smaller than Russell – is completely new to him.
Formula 1 is taking a giant step into the unknown at the super-fast Sakhir GP this weekend – click the link for the full schedule for Sky Sports F1.
« It’s a strange position to find me again, » admitted the King’s Lynn-born driver, who announced on Thursday that he will have to wear smaller racing boots for the weekend to squeeze into the car.
« Of course I’ll have to wait and see how I feel because if, for example, I let another driver get into the Williams car in the middle of the season, I’d have been in that car for a year and a half, me know the team, I know the setup.
« I will feel comfortable and confident and these guys would have a hard time becoming my teammate because I had the chance to understand everything in a Williams car.
« Obviously Valtteri has been with Mercedes for four or five years now. I don’t expect to get in right away and be on the right pace. It’s a new seat, a different car, something different to learn, and it will take time to get used to everything. But I expect to be a little faster than before and hopefully fight at the top of the grid. «
Russell added: « It tries to unlearn what I know and learn new things over the course of two days. It’s a big job. «
He outlined his approach to the weekend and explained: « It only works step by step. Friday, learn as much as you can.
« It will be different. Usually Friday is all about preparing for Saturday, but this Friday is about studying everything for Saturday and Sunday. Get an idea of how I get on against Valtteri, learn from him and see where I am. «
Despite his obscurity with the car he’ll be driving for the next three days, Russell is widely considered a top performer after impressing with uncompetitive machines in both of his two seasons at Williams.
The former F2 champion, who was never surpassed by a teammate in 36 races, is considered to be the leading contender for a full-time Mercedes seat as early as 2022. This weekend’s excursion is therefore seen by many as an opportunity for him to make an early claim against an established benchmark in Bottas.
But Russell insists that he make his debut for the team that has « no expectations » of themselves or the world champions’ management.
« There are a lot of expectations from a number of people, media, fans, what do you have, but [I] block that out, » he insisted. « I’m just going to do my own thing, prepare to go out in FP1, not try to set the world on fire, and just prepare and prepare for qualifying. « . Sunday is the main thing for me. Focus on the race. «
Four years ago and Max Verstappen, who had barely more than a Formula 1 season behind him at the time, the sport was astounding when he won his first appearance for Red Bull at the 2016 Spanish GP on the same weekend that he drove his car for the first time.
When asked if he believed in his heart that victory was possible, he replied, « You obviously have to believe.
« I’ve been given an incredible opportunity, but like I said, I’m not setting goals. I’ll just give it my all like I’ve always done. Get out there, drive as fast as I can Saturday afternoon, Sunday afternoon and whatever happens, happens. «
© 2020 Sky UK
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1-Team, Formula 1, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Williams Racing, Bahrain International Circuit, Valtteri Bottas
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Ref: https://www.skysports.com
