• George Russell stood in for Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton at the Sakhir Grand Prix.
• Hamilton tested positive for Covid-19, prompting Mercedes to call Russell up from the Williams team.
• The Briton put in an impressive performance and qualified second behind team mate Valtteri Bottas.
• Russell executed a brilliant overtake on the more experienced Finn and showed great grit and determination.
George Russell did everything he could over the race weekend to show Mercedes he is deserving of a seat in 2022.
The young British driver replaced his more experienced compatriot Lewis Hamilton who tested positive for Covid-19. And thus Russell was handed a golden opportunity what he could achieve in the works car, and goodness did he impress.
The Williams driver didn't put a foot wrong in free practice on Friday and qualified on the front row in a one-two for Mercedes. Ironically, the front pair have struggled with starts in 2020, but it was Russell who nailed the start and took the lead from Bottas.
The fairy tale race win in the fastest car on the grid seemed to be on the cards for Russell, but it ended up not being his day as the racing Gods were simply not smiling down on him.
Much of the blame falls on the team, whose blunder saw them go from one-two to both drivers fitting on the incorrect tyres.
However, Russell certainly did enough to stake a claim for a top drive in F1 in the future and showed he has the pedigree to win races. A moment during the 22-year-old's second stint, in which he was behind Bottas, resulted in a phenomenal overtaking move that was lauded by (British) commentators and fans.
READ | The blunder of all blunders that got George Russell off the winner's podium in Bahrain
It must be noted that Russell was on the fresher rubber and his teammate was struggling with tyre degradation; nevertheless it was an outstanding move.
