After George Russell swapped his Williams for Lewis Hamilton’s title-winning Mercedes and immediately impressed in Sakhir, rumors are swirling that the young Brit could potentially oust No. 2 driver Valtteri Bottas from the team.
Russell was drafted in to replace Hamilton after the newly crowned world champion had tested positive for COVID-19 and, in his first race weekend in the car, stood out as he topped the timesheets through free practice and qualified on the front row for last Sunday’s race, just 0.026 behind teammate Bottas.
Russell then proceeded to beat Bottas off the line at the start of the race and charge into a commanding lead, with the Finnish ace unable to make any headway as he struggled to keep up.
Only a botched mid-race pitstop and a heartbreaking slow puncture prevented Russell from finishing on the podium and, prior to his puncture, he looked set to catch and pass race leader Sergio Perez to claim his first win.
Ultimately, he had to fight back through the field in the final laps as he went from 15th to ninth, to finish just behind teammate Bottas and claim his first-ever championship points in F1.
Russell was crestfallen after the race, and he shared his thoughts on the weekend on his Instagram as he stated his hope for another chance to race in the Mercedes this coming weekend in Abu Dhabi.
Such was Russell’s performance, there have been suggestions that the talented Englishman could find himself with a top drive sooner rather than later, and rumors of a faster-than-expected promotion only gathered momentum after Bottas removed the Mercedes F1 team’s tag from his Instagram bio following the race.
It now simply says, “Driver,” with his personal hashtag and a link to his official website.
Bottas has taken out the Mercedes reference from his Instagram…. pic.twitter.com/yAeo220lPd
In addition, eagle-eyed fans also spotted that Russell has also made a change to his bio, with the Brit removing the mention of him being a Williams driver and replacing it with the more generic “Formula 1 Driver.”
Some fans have taken it as meaning the writing is on the wall for Bottas, who failed to push Hamilton in the drivers’ championship, and has attracted criticism for failing to get the best out of the most dominant car on the Formula 1 grid.
One tweeter commented: “This year gave me the impression that this was his last chance with Merc anyways. He then got destroyed by someone wearing a size too small shoes because he didn’t fit in the car, and had to ask where the overtake button was during the race.”
If Russell continues his super-sub duties for Hamilton in Abu Dhabi this weekend, the dynamic in the garage could make for some very interesting viewing indeed. And if he beats Bottas on the track there could be some very big decisions to be made at Mercedes before the start of the 2021 season.
