Let’s return to Sakhir 2020. Lewis Hamilton couldn’t race due to COVID-19 rearing its ugly head. There was just one man to step in as his substitute: George Russell. He missed a debut pole place by lower than half a tenth, however his expertise was proven within the race.
He snatched the lead from Bottas on the first nook, a primary win was inbound. Nevertheless, a dreadful mistake within the pits and a late puncture cruelly snatched victory from his grasp. This was the day that everybody realised the potential of the younger British driver.
Regardless of driving a Williams which was removed from its former glory, Russell continued to outperform his equipment, particularly in qualifying. This was demonstrated by grabbing a front-row begin in a soaking Belgian Grand Prix. This gave him the golden ticket to Mercedes in 2022. The second lastly arrived.
His first yr with the Silver Arrows noticed a drop off in efficiency because the “zero-pods” design did not ship. Regardless of this, Russell displayed nice consistency, scoring 9 prime 5 finishes in a row, and successful his first race in Brazil. After ending 4th within the standings forward of 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, it appeared {that a} star was born.
So, what went unsuitable in 2023? First, the W14 by no means stood an opportunity to the all-conquering RB19 and 3-time world champion Max Verstappen. Because of this, Mercedes went winless for the primary time since 2011. Secondly, the teammate battle between Russell and Hamilton swung the opposite means. This was primarily as a result of latter being extra constant together with scoring 6 podiums in comparison with Russell’s 2.
And eventually, large errors. Monaco, a 5-second penalty for a collision price him a podium. Canada was an unforced error, crashing at Flip 9 resulting in retirement. After which, Singapore. The second that summed up his season. After chasing Sainz and Norris for the win, it resulted in final lap heartbreak. Clipping the wall at Flip 10 crushed the dream of a second victory.
Nevertheless, regardless of the errors, Russell has just lately signed a brand new contract till the top of 2025 through the summer time break. Mercedes group principal Toto Wolff declared: “We’ve the strongest pairing on the grid.”
His group precept nonetheless boasted quite a lot of confidence in his driver lineup till Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari shook the game to its core. Nevertheless, 2024 desperately must be a step up for Russell as one other poor season can damage his credentials as a future world champion.
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