– George Russell does not associate his first outing for Mercedes with only sporting memories to this day. The Brit reveals that he still carries scars on his hips almost six years later. The cause was the short-notice debut for the German factory team at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, when he replaced Lewis Hamilton, who was ill with COVID-19.
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At that time, Russell was still driving for Williams but only received the call on the Tuesday before the race weekend. Just one day later, he sat in the Mercedes for the first time to check if he would even fit in the cockpit. The result was sobering.
“I got the call on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I went to the team to see if I fit in the car. I didn’t fit,” Russell recalls. The Mercedes was tailored to Hamilton and his then-teammate Valtteri Bottas, both of whom are smaller than the current Mercedes driver.
Hamilton two sizes smaller?
Russell’s height and shoe size in particular became a problem. “I was completely cramped and bent forward. My shoes didn’t fit. I wear size 45 and had to wear size 43 shoes just to get into the cockpit,” the Brit reports.
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Despite the obvious limitations, Russell did not hesitate for a second to question the deployment. When asked by the team if everything was okay, he always gave the same answer. “I said: ‘Yes, everything’s fine. No problem. I’m driving this weekend, no matter what happens.’”
The physical consequences accompany him to this day. Due to the cramped seating position, Russell sustained injuries to his hips, the scars of which are still visible years later. Given the unique opportunity, it is hardly surprising that he accepted this. For the then Williams driver, it was the first chance to prove himself directly in a top car with the Silver Arrows.
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Russell convinces despite pain
Sportingly, Russell made impressive use of this opportunity. Already in qualifying, he was only 0.026 seconds behind Bottas’s pole position. In the race, he took the lead after the start and at times pulled eight seconds clear of the field. Everything pointed to a commanding maiden victory for Mercedes.
Then the race took a dramatic turn. During a safety car phase, Mercedes made a costly mistake. The mechanics accidentally fitted Bottas’s tires onto Russell’s car. Because this violated the regulations, Russell had to pit again immediately and fell far back.
The Brit then fought his way impressively back to the front. But shortly before the end of the race, a tire failure destroyed the last hopes of victory. Instead of the seemingly certain success, only ninth place remained and the feeling that one of the greatest moments of his career had slipped away.
Decisive step for the future
“I was on my way to victory, and then everything was taken away from me,” Russell looks back. At the same time, he felt that this race would decisively influence his future. “I knew that what I showed that weekend was probably enough to secure my future with this team.”
In retrospect, despite the disappointment, the positive memory prevails. The appearance in Sakhir finally made Russell a candidate for a Mercedes cockpit. At the end of 2021, the team confirmed his move for the 2022 season. That this path began with lasting scars is now just an unusual memory for Russell of one of the most formative weekends of his Formula 1 career.
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