WIN THAT GOT AWAY
Pit crew cost Russell dear... but a star is born
NOT since Lewis Hamilton arrived on the world stage has a British driver a nnounced hi s talent i n such exciting fashion as luckless George Russell.
When the Sakhir Grand Prix was over, t he Norfolk- born stripling, who won the race over and over again only ultimately to be denied victory by a pit- stop bungle and then a puncture, lay on the floor close to tears.
For so much of the 87 laps, he was in control, displaying a rare composure on his Mercedes debut that echoed Hamilton’s early forays in 2007 when he, like Russell, was 22.
The comparison is relevant because it was only as a result of Hamilton, 34, going down with Covid that Russell was drafted in from Williams to take his seat.
It would clearly be insulting to draw any deeper parallels, for the older man has won 95 races and seven titles across 14 seasons, and Russell almost nothing yet.
But, as an early calling card, this performance held dazzling promise. Russell, starting second, roared into the lead off the start — even though the night before he was so new to the car he had to ask how to switch it off. He opened up a neat lead on Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas either side of their first stops. Eight seconds at one point. Then e v e nts beyond his control unravelled. A second safety car came out and Mercedes brought him i n t o be r e - shod. However, his pit crew did not hear the call and it was Bottas’s side of the garage who greeted the race leader. They put the Finn’s tyres on Ru s s e l l ’ s c a r, causing Mercedes to be fined £18,000. Russell was called in again to put right the mistake. The ‘colossal f*** up’, as team principal Toto Wolff called it, plunged him to fifth, a place behind Bottas. Russell now pulled off the move of the race, threading himself past Bottas. In two blistering laps he moved past Racing Point’s Lance Stroll and the Renault of Esteban Ocon. This put him on the tail of Sergio Perez, only f or his left-rear tyre to go pop. The upshot was a win at t he 190th attempt for tenacious Perez, who f ought back from last place after being clipped i n a reckless mov e by Fe r r a r i ’ s Charles Leclerc tha t ended
Max Verstappen’s participation. Cue sighs in the Red Bull garage. Ocon came second and Lance Stroll, in the other Racing Point, third.
Russell was ninth, due to his four stops, a place behind Bottas. But there was a huge difference: Bottas was slow, timid, uncertain. Yet he is due to be kept on next season. How much more thrilling it would be to see Russell partner Hamilton in a pretender-and-king rivalry.
Scot Jack Aitken, 25, who came in at Williams for Russell, finished 16th.
When the race was over Russell came on the radio: ‘Guys, I don’t know what to say. That was taken away from us twice. Honestly, it’s been a pleasure and I’ve loved it. I’m absolutely gutted. But we’ll get this opportunity again.’
It may come in the season’s closing round in Abu Dhabi next week if Hamilton does not recover or Covid travel restrictions deny him access.
Wolff said: ‘ George drove monumentally. It is not going to be his last attempt to win a race. It is just the start of a fairytale that didn’t work out today. But I would say a new star is born.’