The risk and reward of Russell's Mercedes opportunity

Mercedes selecting George Russell as Lewis Hamilton's stand-in for the Sakhir Grand Prix provides a dynamic set to challenge both the British driver and Valtteri Bottas for different reasons, while potentially delivering the team some unexpected answers

Published Dec 2, 2020, 3:59 PM

Had Lewis Hamilton's positive coronavirus test come back when the teams gathered in the Bahrain paddock tomorrow, then there is little doubt that Stoffel Vandoorne would be making his Formula 1 return for Mercedes this weekend.

As designated reserve driver, Vandoorne is the man that Mercedes trust to jump in the car in an instant should one of their regular drivers suddenly find themselves unable to continue.

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Author Jonathan Noble

Jonathan Noble is Motorsport.com’s Formula 1 editor. Having graduated from University of Sussex Jonathan worked for sports news agency Collings Sports reporting on F1, F3, touring cars and other sports, with articles appearing in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Autosport and other publications. In 1999 he moved to Haymarket Publishing to become a senior editor at Autosport Special Projects, and one year later he became Autosport’s grand prix editor. In 2015 he moved to Motorsport Network, becoming the F1 editor for Motorsport.com. He is also a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and sits on the FIA Media Council.