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George Russell will drive for Mercedes in place of Lewis Hamilton in Sakhir Grand Prix this weekend after world champion tested positive for Covid-19
- Lewis Hamilton is self-isolating after testing positive for coronavirus
- George Russell of Williams will take his place in Sakhir Grand Prix this weekend
- English driver Russell, 22, said he was ‘unbelievably grateful’ for the opportunity
- Jack Aitken will take Russell’s Williams seat for the race in Bahrain
George Russell will drive for Mercedes in place of Covid positive Lewis Hamilton in this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix.
Recently-crowned world champion Hamilton, 35, was ruled out of the penultimate round of the Formula One championship after contracting coronavirus this week.
‘Very few people are lucky enough to drive for an @F1 team each year and I’m about to get the chance to drive for two,’ said Englishman Russell, 22. on Twitter.
Williams driver George Russell will drive for Mercedes this weekend, replacing world champion Lewis Hamilton after his positive Covid-19 test
Hamilton has tested positive for coronavirus and has had mild symptoms since Monday. Here he is pictured on November 29 after winning the Bahrain Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton’s statement this afternoon after testing positive for coronavirus, ruling him out of this weekend’s race
‘Unbelievably grateful to Williams and Mercedes for this opportunity.’
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said: ‘First and foremost, I wish to thank our loyal partners at Williams for their collaboration and open-mindedness in making it possible for George to race for Mercedes this weekend.
‘The conversations with the team at Williams were positive and pragmatic and those were the key factors in reaching an agreement.
‘It will not be a straightforward task for George to make the transition from the Williams to the W11, but he is race-ready and has detailed understanding of the 2020 tyres and how they perform on this generation of cars.
‘George has shown impressive form this year with Williams, playing an instrumental role in their climb up the grid, and I am optimistic that he will deliver a strong performance alongside Valtteri [Bottas], who will be a demanding reference for him.
Hamilton won his seventh Formula One title on November 15 in Turkey before returning home to Monaco the same evening. The next day, he filmed himself going for a run along the beach and said that he was feeling ‘blessed and grateful’
On November 22, Hamilton posted a video on Instagram of him playing tennis with his dad and revealed how he they have both been working hard at getting better at the sport
‘This race will mark a small milestone for us, as we see a member of our junior programme compete for the works Mercedes team for the first time.
‘We have a job to do this weekend, and the full focus of our sporting efforts will be behind Valtteri and George in order to maximise our points score as a team.
‘But, of course, our thoughts are also with Lewis, and we will be supporting him as much as we can to make a rapid recovery during his period of self-isolation.’
Jack Aitken will take Russell’s place on the grid for Williams this weekend.
‘I can’t believe this, but I will make my F1 debut with Williams this weekend,’ the 25-year-old said.
‘Huge thank you to them, and obviously my best wishes to Lewis, and George making the step into the Mercedes.’
