George Russell thinks his strong Sakhir Grand Prix showing offered confirmation to outsiders that he was ready for Mercedes more than it did Toto Wolff. The Briton will be a fully-fledged Mercedes driver for 2022 onwards after serving a three-year Formula 1 apprenticeship with Williams, mostly towards the back of the grid. But when he was afforded a ‘guest’ opportunity due to Lewis Hamilton’s illness at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain, Russell grabbed it with both hands by shining in the Mercedes. He put the car on the front row of the grid, only 0.026sec slower than his temporary team-mate Valtteri Bottas, and outperformed the Finn in the race, leading for much of it and only...
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