F1 | Sakhir GP | Russell shines in FP1 ahead of the two Red Bulls
Russell dominates the first session of the Bahrain GP while Bottas is only fourth.
After the last Grand Prix and the dramatic crash which involved Romain Grosjean, the Sakhir track needed a fresh start. This weekend the Circus is going to race there too, even if the race will be on the Outer track.
This is the first race weekend for George Russell in Mercedes, as the Briton replaces Lewis Hamilton, who was diagnosed positive to Covid.
Call it luck, call it destiny but the young Briton put all his talent in the first session of free practises gaining the super result of the fastest driver of the session. Such a result proves not only that Mercedes did the right choice picking Russell over Vandoorne or Gutierrez but also that the driver is wasted in Williams. While Russell finished first, Red Bull conquered a double finish in the top three zone, placing max Verstappen second and Alex Albon third.
What surprises, but not that much to be honest, in that Valtteri Bottas has to be content with an anonymous fourth position. The Finn had to race with a great pressure on and it seems that he felt it too much, leaving it to overwhelm him. Russell, on the other hand, proved to own a champion’s cold-blood that could help him to be hired in a post-Hamilton scenario.
Let’s go back to the present: Alpha Tauri had a super session too, placing Kvyat and Gasly in fifth and sixth position, while Ocon occupied the seventh position.
Sebastian Vettel made it to the top ten again, ending up eighth. Last but not least, Daniel Ricciardo conquered the ninth place and Leclerc put his Ferrari in tenth position.
Analysing the current solution, it looks like the young Russell will definitely have the chance to steal the spotlight to Valtteri Bottas, always if Mercedes will leave its drivers free to entertain the fans with an internal fight, which will be even more interesting if Red Bull keeps racing like this.
This is only the beginning but we have all the reasons to be thrilled to assist at the Take Two of Formula 1 in Bahrain.
FP1 CLASSIFICATION ⏱️@GeorgeRussell63 tops an official race weekend session for the first time in his F1 career 👀#SakhirGP 🇧🇭 #F1 pic.twitter.com/0ON1IYUmg4
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 4, 2020
