George Russell He has praised the “technical work” of the Mercedes W11 – and the team staff behind his impressive appearance at the Sakhir Grand Prix.
Although it He eventually ended up in anguish For the Briton, with the victory snatched away from him on two occasions, Russell’s performance against Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes was remarkable.
Russell moved on from Williams after the world champion tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, pushing his temporary team-mate Valtteri Bottas to close first and then beat him off the starting line in the race, maintaining the lead he only gave up when Mercedes flopped in the process. Double hole position under the safety car.
Until then, Russell had every chance to chase Sergio Perez for a brilliant victory until he got punched and ended up in ninth place, behind Bottas.
Given he had been fighting in the back of the group for the vast majority of nearly two full seasons with Williams, driving the world champion car was a “joy” for Russell – despite his final score at the Bahrain International Circuit.
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I was asked on Channel 4 how it feels to drive MercedesRussell said, “It’s a work of art, honestly, it’s all about it.
“ It’s very smooth, very nice over the bumps, a lot of downforce, a lot of grip.
“And I feel in control of it. Lots of cars, when they’re not completely balanced, the car is controlling you, and you interact with the car.
“But as a driver in that Mercedes, I control it, and that’s just fun. That’s what you want in a racing car and this is what you get in this Mercedes.”
Not only was the mechanical and aerodynamic aspects lyrically formulated by Russell, but he also paid tribute to the human side of the process and Hamilton’s race engineer, Bette “Bono” Bonnington, in particular.
“Only this team raises expectations,” added Russell, who has been a junior driver at Mercedes for the past four years.
“I knew how good they were but they came back, and I saw that new, and the team of Luis Bono (Bonnington House) and the men around him.
“ Bono has a quiet voice, and you almost want him to read you a bedtime story at some point.
“A wonderful group of men and I hope I have a chance again soon.”
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