Mercedes has confirmed that George Russell will be replacing Lewis Hamilton in this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain. The confirmation comes after the seven-time World Champion tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.
Russell has been driving for the Williams team since 2019, having been part of the Mercedes junior programme since 2016. He’s had some impressive finishes in 2020, finishing just outside the points in Britain, Tuscan and Bahrain.
“It will not be a straightforward task for George to make the transition from the Williams to the W11,” Mercedes F1 team principal, Toto Wolff, said in a statement issued by the team. “But he is race-ready and has detailed understanding of the 2020 tyres and how they perform on this generation of cars. George has shown impressive form this year with Williams, playing an instrumental role in their climb up the grid, and I am optimistic that he will deliver a strong performance alongside Valtteri, who will be a demanding reference for him.”
The vacant seat on Williams will be filled by the team’s reserve driver, Jack Aitken. Aitken has been racing in Formula 2 for Campos Racing and was set to race in the series this weekend in Bahrain for the second time this season.
Stoffel Vandoorne, who flew out to Bahrain yesterday, will not be racing this weekend. Being one of Mercedes’ two contracted reserve drivers, some people expected the powerhouse team to name him as Hamilton’s replacement. At the very least, it was believed that Mercedes would lone him to Williams for the weekend.
