F1 | George Russell In At Mercedes, Jack Aitken To Williams

[Dude27]

Well, in testing he proved faster than the regular drivers in the same car. Now its a real race, in a car he knows, in a team he knows, on a track he knows and is fresh in memory against a teammate that is questionable at best. All the odds for a win is there. Win and beat Bottas comprehensively and he'll pretty much be guaranteed a race drive somewhere in the near future.

OR the experience is a real nightmare and he will lose confidence... These opportunities are rare and with a lot of criterias to get some success (quick adaptation with the car and the team, pressure to perform and to not crash the car, qualify and race in the top 10 at least...)... a big chance and a curse at the same time...

Anyway, having said that, Max could bag this one without his nemesis...

 

[ohi]

Wasn't Stoffel Vandoorne the reserve driver? Shouldn't he be next in line?
Russel is a good guy, but I feel a little sorry for Stoffel, he must have ordered flight tickets already when he heard that Hamilton had covid.

 

[Appie Kuipers]

This could be a horror race this weekend, to fast, to short and to close, hope not.

 

[Dude27]

Wasn't Stoffel Vandoorne the reserve driver? Shouldn't he be next in line?
Russel is a good guy, but I feel a little sorry for Stoffel, he must have ordered flight tickets already when he heard that Hamilton had covid.

I have my idea on this... when watching the netflix serie about the last two seasons... Toto seems to be close to Russell and seems to see him as his protegee when he negotiated with Williams.. This is one perfect opportunity to try out Georges in a Merc in race conditions.

 

[dadara74]

This is gonna be very interesting, it's gonna answer quite a number of questions but also will raise a few new ones.

Happy for Russel as a person for the oppertunity he gets, but I expect him to be thrashed by Bottas... I am not a Bottas fan but the guy is hugely underrated...dont forget the margin between him and Hamilton is VERY small most of the time, just 1 or 2 tenths of pace with Hamilton and sometimes he even beats him. Not bad for someone who has the (statistically) GOAT to beat.

I know I am in the minority but I think Russel is by far the most overrated driver on the grid. I simply am not impressed how he performs...not in F2 and not in F1. The mantra that the Williams is awfull starts to wear out, the car isnt as bad this year as it was last year. They still have the best engine (and support with it) on the grid after all. The qualifying stat of Russel doesnt impress me either with Kubica (who I have a huge respect for but he is a "physically challenged" driver and a shadow of how good he was) and Latifi to compare him to. I find his racecraft inferior to that of Norris, Gasly or Albon (not even mentioning Leclerc or Verstappen).

I do not see it, I do not understand the hype around him...maybe someone can point it out for me?

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

... but I feel a little sorry for Stoffel, he must have ordered flight tickets already ...

I read he was already on his way to join the team on the usual schedule when the news of Hamilton's infection was published, so I presume he is on hand and will see someone doing his job. Would not want to be in his shoes.

 

[Slapped]

Wasn't Stoffel Vandoorne the reserve driver? Shouldn't he be next in line?
Russel is a good guy, but I feel a little sorry for Stoffel, he must have ordered flight tickets already when he heard that Hamilton had covid.

No - Vandoorne had his chance and it didn't work out. Given that Russell is in the Merc young drivers program, and has demonstrated real pace and a significant dominance over team mates in a car that's the F1 equivalent of a Reliant Robin then it's obvious that Russell is the right man for the job.

 

[racer68]

I'm very happy for George, he deserves it & I wish him good luck
**- I think he is going to feel some pressure (new car, partner, potential of results, new competitors cause i'll be racing in the performing drivers pack) so we will see how he haddles all that, I'm confidant.
** I would have liked to see Ilot vs Jack (not that I don't like Jack) but Ilot is with the RED guys, to bad.

 

[RichardHessels]

Totally deserved, to have a competive car for once. The Bahrain outertrack is still quite more than just an oval track. Will be a fun race to watch. Looking forward to the race.
Go go Russell!

 

[John Addison]

This is a Merc ploy...... Lewis is not sick. ToTo at his best here

 

[bgil66]

Cool, I’ll be watching!

 

[Kurvz]

Oh I can wait to see George and how he adjusts, I hope he can keep his cool and not get caught with stage fright, and show what a lot us believe he is capable of

 

[Knoxstar]

If he does well and beats Bottas, it's bad for Merc next year with Bottas signed on unless GR is LH's replacement. If GR does not do well and is Albonlike to Bottas then not good for GR down the road. Oh you can say it is just one race but it will stick like a q

 

[Sigwolf]

If he does well and beats Bottas, it's bad for Merc next year with Bottas signed on unless GR is LH's replacement. If GR does not do well and is Albonlike to Bottas then not good for GR down the road. Oh you can say it is just one race but it will stick like a q

Not in any way. If he outperforms Bottas, they both have one year on their current contracts, so Mercedes is free to replace Bottas with Russell in 2022. Mercedes has still managed to win the constructor's championship the last four years with Bottas as the second driver, so I think they'll be fine. A no lose situation. If Bottas outperforms Russell, it *is* one race, and will be treated as such. That is in no way comparable to a season and a half of "Albonlike" performance.

 

[Craigo Charger]

It makes perfect sense placing GR in the Merc in my opinion, he's no stranger to the car having driven it in testing as part of the Merc drivers program. He's race ready & knows how the tyres behave. Feel a bit sorry for Stoff but delighted for Jack. A top four finish would be amazing for George.

 

[muzikant]

This is gonna be very interesting, it's gonna answer quite a number of questions but also will raise a few new ones.

Happy for Russel as a person for the oppertunity he gets, but I expect him to be thrashed by Bottas... I am not a Bottas fan but the guy is hugely underrated...dont forget the margin between him and Hamilton is VERY small most of the time, just 1 or 2 tenths of pace with Hamilton and sometimes he even beats him. Not bad for someone who has the (statistically) GOAT to beat.

I know I am in the minority but I think Russel is by far the most overrated driver on the grid. I simply am not impressed how he performs...not in F2 and not in F1. The mantra that the Williams is awfull starts to wear out, the car isnt as bad this year as it was last year. They still have the best engine (and support with it) on the grid after all. The qualifying stat of Russel doesnt impress me either with Kubica (who I have a huge respect for but he is a "physically challenged" driver and a shadow of how good he was) and Latifi to compare him to. I find his racecraft inferior to that of Norris, Gasly or Albon (not even mentioning Leclerc or Verstappen).

I do not see it, I do not understand the hype around him...maybe someone can point it out for me?

Agree and good points
Russel have never drive with a very good car well see on sunday what are his skills. I see him like a tallent

 

[Badwheels]

With a poor junior career like Latifi's, one really doesn't get to pull the "he's just in a bad car" card. There's little to no evidence from his entire career that he's even close to what would typically be expected of the average F1 driver.

Actually, I was kidding about Latifi. But on that note, I always find it interesting that people say this person or that person should be in a particular sport because they don' have the talent. Any person, whether they are "daddy's little boy", " the coach's son", " pay driver", "only because he is from blah country", is in the top 1//2 of 1% of all people who perform that activity ongoing. Even the worst pro anything, would eat the best amateur every day.

 

[decapnz]

very happy for George. best of luck to him!

 

[Patrik Marek]

I wish him all the best, would really love if he could make some decent results, that will help him get better drive in the future

 

[Kimmo Kokkonen]

Wasn't Stoffel Vandoorne the reserve driver? Shouldn't he be next in line?
Russel is a good guy, but I feel a little sorry for Stoffel, he must have ordered flight tickets already when he heard that Hamilton had covid.

Oke, it seems that not all of you understand what a reserve driver is.

So,
Each team has at least one reserve driver in the race who will drive if one of the drivers is prevented from driving and this obstacle arises during the weekend.

So Stoffel is that reserve driver this weekend, therefore he cannot be replaced Hamilton. If Stoffel replace Hamilton, then team needs new reserve driver, who it could be, unexperienced Aitken? So do you think that Hulkenberg should be reserve driver this weekend, no because Stoffel is that man.

So to be as reserve driver this weekend is Stoffel's role, then new talent Russell and another new talent Aitken can give a real evidence of their driving skills (we know Russell is very good, he only needs a better car), but Stoffel already showed his skills, he's not good enough, at least not yet.