Russell “impressive” on Mercedes debut - Horner
Russell “impressive” on Mercedes debut - Horner
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner praised Mercedes stand-in driver George Russell for doing a “solid job” in Bahrain practice on his first day in the world championship-winning car.
Russell, who is debuting for the team in place of Lewis Hamilton - who is self-isolating after contracting Covid-19 - looked impressive as he topped both practice sessions around Bahrain’s fast Outer Circuit.
The British driver, who usually races for Williams, conceded his times may have been flattering but Horner said: “George has done a very solid job. I mean, that’s impressive to top both sessions.”
There is plenty of work left to do as the teams get to grips with the new oval-like circuit, which follows a much shorter layout around the same venue where the teams competed in the Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend.
Hamilton took an imperious victory for Mercedes in that event, prior to his positive Covid test, but it appears things could be a little closer this weekend on a track that requires less downforce and more power.
Horner revealed his team may have got Mercedes rattled, telling Sky Sports F1: “We think we’re pretty racy. I got a text off [Mercedes boss] Toto [Wolff], I never get texts off him, and he just said ‘you guys look a bit quick in race trim.’
“It’s a tricky little track and it’s very different to last weekend’s challenge. Without the benefit of a bunch of analysis, I’d say they look quicker over a lap than us but we look better on the long runs.
“The balance shift is quite big, it seems, between the compounds of tyres and certainly between the short runs and the long runs, because there are no long corners putting a lot of energy into the tyres
“The tyres are working quite differently even though they are the same compound as they were a week ago, so that’s going to give the engineers a bit to think about.”
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Haas announce Hulkenberg EXIT as F1 star's new team confirmed
- Today 11:27
F1 champion claims Drive to Survive success was 'very lucky'
- 1 hour ago
F1 franchise welcomes return of INCREDIBLE feature
- 2 hours ago
F1 News Today: Red Bull star set to QUIT team as F1 driver role CONFIRMED for 2025
- 3 hours ago
F1 team set to axe BOTH star drivers
- 3 hours ago
Red Bull to lose F1 MVP as true cost of Horner saga hits
- Today 09:57
Related news
Mercedes star tipped to replace struggling driver THIS season
Hamilton car camera captures Verstappen's TRUE feelings toward F1 rival
Marko reveals Vettel requirements for stunning F1 comeback
Fierce Hamilton F1 rival raises timing issue for Ferrari move
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860