Russell: 'I was disappointed not to get pole position'

George Russell has already been described as one of the most talented drivers in the world, but during the Sakhir Grand Prix he showed that he can actually perform in a top team. According to the Brit that race did a lot for his confidence.

The coronavirus has had a lot of influence on the 2020 Formula 1 season, but it has perhaps had the most influence on George Russell's career. Indeed, when Lewis Hamilton tested positive for the coronavirus, the young Briton was called upon to fill the World Champion's seat.

This suddenly gave Russell a chance to fight at the front and it didn't take long for him to get used to it.

"What was very interesting for me is that I qualified second. That was my best qualifying ever, before that I think it was 12th. But I was disappointed that I wasn't on pole position. Even though you are suddenly at the front of the field, it doesn't change your goal to get the most out of your car. I had a difficult couple of days after that," he told Autosport.com.

Of course, that doesn't mean Russell learned nothing from his one-off race with the Mercedes team, quite the opposite.

"I'm very grateful to Mercedes and Williams for giving me that opportunity and in the end I had to see that race as a victory, despite not getting a trophy at the end of the day," explained the driver.

Whether Russell will get another such opportunity remains to be seen. After all, Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries have been officially designated as reserve drivers for Mercedes, although last time that didn't stop the team from putting the Williams driver in the car either.