George Russell left quite an impression after the Sakhir Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas almost saw his new teammate win the race, but maybe Lewis Hamilton is even more disappointed by his missed race.
Because Hamilton became infected with the coronavirus, he was unable to take action for Mercedes last weekend, and Toto Wolff took the opportunity to put Russell in the Mercedes. He was not disappointed and that may well have an effect on Hamilton's negotiating position, according to Allard Kalff and Kees van de Grint.
Russell causes problems at Hamilton
''You could also say that Bottas is just the best number two. Hamilton is at home now and maybe Mercedes has called Toto Wolff to see if they can offer a little less money to Lewis,'' says the presenter of RTL GP Slipstream. Van de Grint adds some nuance to his colleague's statements.
''That would be very short-sighted because first I want to see how Russell is doing in his next race. However, Frank Williams once put a world champion (Damon Hill after 1996) on the street because he preferred to put that money in the car and that's what's going on here. Russell also became world champion in this car this season. If the negotiations with Lewis still have to be done, Russell hasn't really strengthened Lewis' negotiating position,'' concludes Bridgestone's former tyre expert.