RUSSELL SHOWS HE’S THE REAL DEAL
It has been, at times this season, hard not to feel sorry for George Russell. The up-and-coming British star finally earned his shot at a drive in a benchmark team at Mercedes, just as the German juggernaut hit the skids. As if going up against seven-time title winner Lewis Hamilton wasn’t going to be tough enough. The dodgy chassis was bouncing its drivers all over the place over the beginning of the season, but Russell kept his counsel, kept his head down and – even without Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix victory – was likely to finish in front of Hamilton in the points table anyway.
What was notable about Russell’s win was the way he coped with all that was thrown at him. There was Hamilton chasing him down, there was a late safety car that bunched the pack up and also a decision not to issue team orders over the closing stages. This heady cocktail could have broken a driver who was on the cusp of his first GP win, but not the King’s Lynn man.
You get the impression that now he has his first victory, which he could well have expected much earlier in the season, the floodgates will open. And that has to be great for Formula 1, great for Mercedes and provide Hamilton with a stern intra-team test. This is going to be fascinating.
Also in this issue, we look back on a highly dramatic Rally Japan – and it wasn’t just the competitors who were making the headlines. Thierry Neuville gave Toyota a bloody nose on its home event by taking victory for Hyundai but, aside from the towering inferno caused by Dani Sordo’s technical problems, there was something of greater concern as a road motorist found his way onto one of the live stages and proceeded to drive the wrong way down the track, putting him head-on with drivers who were trying to push as hard as they could. The sport’s governors investigated and deemed that the rally could carry on after getting certain assurances, but this has cast a back mark against the event’s organisers.
The man in the hot seat of our readers’ questions section is rally co-driver Tony Mason, who drove alongside Roger Clark to victory in the 1972 RAC Rally. The avid motorsport enthusiast – who even survived being dumped in a lake – then turned his attention to show business and became an adept presenter on TV.
Turn to pages 20-21 to find out how to make your voice heard in our 2022 Motorsport News Awards, with details of how to vote for your favourite National Racing Driver and National Rally Driver of the year. Don’t miss out on your chance to have your say.
It would be remiss to not pay our tribute to former Motorsport News (Motoring News as was then) editor Simon Arron, who passed away last week. He was such a huge part of this publication’s history, and older readers will remember his searing insight into the sport we love and his application of a great deal of common sense to the subjects he was writing about. It is a sad week for all at Motorsport News.