Wolff would like to see Russell next to Bottas: "Will be a challenging reference"

George Russell will have to pay attention in Bahrain, because for the first time this year during the race he will not have to drive into Williams' box at the end of the pit lane, but will go straight into the Mercedes one. Toto Wolff is very happy with Russell's arrival.

''First of all, I would like to thank our loyal partners at Williams for their cooperation and their open-mindedness in making it possible for George to race for Mercedes this weekend. The discussions with the Williams team were positive and pragmatic, and these were the key factors in reaching an agreement," said Mercedes team boss.

Difficult task for Russell

''It will not be an easy task for George to make the transition from the Williams to the W11, but he is race-ready and has a detailed understanding of the 2020 tyres and how they perform on these cars. George has shown an impressive form at Williams this year and I am optimistic that he will deliver a strong performance alongside Valtteri which will be a challenging reference for him.

''This race will mark a small milestone for us as, for the first time, we see a member of our Junior programme taking part in the work of the Mercedes team. We have a job to do this weekend and the full focus of our sporting efforts will be behind Valtteri and George to maximise our points score as a team. But of course our thoughts are with Lewis as well, and we will support him as much as we can to make a quick recovery during his period of self-isolation."