For the second week in a row the F1 drivers camp in Bahrain, but this time without Romain Grosjean (still recovering from his burns) and Lewis Hamilton (positive on corona). The Belgian fans had hoped that Hamilton would be replaced by the 3rd driver Stoffel Vandoorne, but Mercedes chose to pick George Russell from the Williams.
Russell had already done a great job in the practice sessions and for the first time in his career he reached Q3 in qualifying, something that Sebastian Vettel with his Ferrari failed to achieve this time. The German was already killed in Q1.
Max Verstappen initially set the best time in Q3, but on the ultra-short circuit in Sakhir he had to let the 2 Mercedes drivers go for the umpteenth time this season.
Russell squeezed out a quick lap at the end to outperform his more experienced teammate Valtteri Bottas, but he stranded at 2 hundredths.
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“What an intense week this was!” Said an uninhibited George Russell immediately after qualifying. “I would never have believed anyone a week ago that I would start in 2nd place here.”
“I had to learn so much in such a short time. Actually I had to unlearn everything about the Williams first and then learn about the Mercedes. It’s a completely different way of driving.”
“I was already happy that I made it to Q3, but in the end everything came together. Qualifications have always been good, but a race still requires a bit more finesse. There is no one ahead of me at the start tomorrow. I haven’t seen it for a long time. “
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