That was pretty close

Interesting point from Brundle that the performance from Russell with be useful in their negotiations with Lewis. Just reminds him Merc have viable options should be push his luck too far.

Err, George, I’m not sure “balls out” is post qualifying interview safe language.

Brilliant. Keep that lad away from media training.

Great job by George. Crap job by albon, outqualified by kvyat and gasly 🤦‍♂️ he can’t be long for that seat

Re. Contract with Lewis. He’s still 7 time WC, and mega famous. His value is not just about pace.

@joefm. Quite agree however it can’t hurt Merc for him to know there are possible options out there. Seemingly very quick options who would be far cheaper.

WC’s have priced themselves out of negotiations before…

Not so much the ones that still win… Dude that’s papping himself at the minute has to be Bottas – no pressure tomorrow…. 😉

I suspect Bottas will have the edge over Russell in the race because managing tyres will be so important (with an abrasive surface, densely-packed traffic and a pit stop costing half a lap) and that’ll be a big challenge in a new car. If anyone’s going to beat him I’d put money on the two guys at the front who can really manage tyres: Verstappen and Perez. And Gasly and Sainz might be ones to watch if the race goes full weird.

Not that I wouldn’t be happy to be proven wrong and see Russell win 🙂

Yes, Russell has been impressive so far, but this article suggests he hasn’t fully adjusted to the different characteristics of the Merc, so that may affect his race performance too.

https://the-race.com/formula-1/the-williams-origin-of-russells-sakhir-gp-weak-point/

Dude that’s papping himself at the minute has to be Bottas – no pressure tomorrow….

Oh I dunno, I bet Albon is experiencing a bit of squeaky bum time 😆

Lewis to Russell “Yeah sure you can drive it, just don’t scratch it. It’s a championship winning car!”.

I bet Albon is experiencing a bit of squeaky bum time

Ocon too. He’s looked weak compared to Ricciardo and next year will have Alonso as his teammate. Wasn’t so long ago he was considered a contender for a Merc seat, but now Russell’s swooped in and stolen that. If he doesn’t do a lot better next year, Renault will be looking at Hulkenberg and Perez as potentially better number 2 drivers.

Team Statement: Romain Grosjean Returning to Switzerlandhttps://t.co/hWgZ72Gcbu

— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) December 6, 2020

Shame he wont get to race next week. So happy he’s heading home under his own steam and not in a box, that’s going to be one very special family Christmas.

LOL @ sky running

Ooh, more high drama! Great start from Russell, that was amazing!

Oops

WHAT A START !!

crashstappen leave that wall alone.

Excellent!

This is suddenly looking incredible for both Mercs. Everything crossed for George Russell, what a feeling it must be to go from consistently mid-pack in a Williams to suddenly leading with a strong chance of winning in a Merc!

could have lifted max

That’s just what George needed. With Max out second today tied up second for Bottas in the championship so no need for team orders to gift Bottas the win.

Could we have more replays of Horner’s face please?

The radio from Russell is quite entertaining – he’s reminding the team to tell him to stop in the first pit box, not the normal one he goes to and still asking what some of the buttons on the steering wheel do!

even though they like to “big” up max’s chances once he’s missed out on the lead off the start he’s not going to win.

Yawn. Just another procession.

😉

Russell driving it like he stole it 😀

Spiced things up 😀

That’s merc screwed

Ooofff

good grief

WTAF?!

“Should be plenty of pace on these tyres”

Russell “I **** hope so!”

😂

Mechanic on front left clocked what had happened I think and avoided same happening on Bottas. Interesting dynamic now with the Merc on faster tyres behind!

Nicely done by George there

What happens to the points and things here?

Russell normally drives for Williams, accruing (presumably) points for himself in the Driver Champs and points for Williams in the Constructors.

He’s now been seconded to Merc, fair enough – does he still get Championship points and what about Constructors? Also, given the level of secrecy around car tech, what happens with a driver swapping between teams and potentially taking tech info between teams?

I genuinely don’t know who I want to win out of these two.

What happens to the points and things here?

Constructors points for the team you’re driving for, championship points for yourself.

I’d quite like to see Checo win.