Sakhir Grand Prix – Free Practice 1: Russell impresses, Bottas disappoints

All eyes were on the British driver George Russell, replacing a Coronavirus-positive Lewis Hamilton. This opportunity given to the Williams team transferee is a chance but also a challenge, that of moving from the slowest car on the grid to the world champion car.

If Mick Schumacher has confirmed his arrival at Haas for the next season, another well-known F1 name is making his appearance at the wheel of Haas in place of Romain Grosjean, who is still recovering after his terrible accident last Sunday. Pietro Fittipaldi, the grandson of double Brazilian world champion Emerson Fittipaldi.

Williams also welcomed a new driver to their team in the person of Jack Aitken, a British driver currently 14th in the Formula 2 driver standings. As a reserve driver for the team based in Grove, he comes in to replace George Russell for this weekend.

The first to make a mistake and go through the gravel was the Monegasque Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari, very unstable since the start of the season, has been largely relieved of aerodynamic downforce for this Grand Prix. The only winding part of the circuit is likely to be challenging for the Scuderia drivers.

Charles hits the beach in the desert ????????

He’s currently running in P9 as we enter the final hour of first practice#SakhirGP ???????? #F1 pic.twitter.com/wdmbXB9cM8

— Formula 1 (@F1) December 4, 2020

After half an hour of testing, the drivers were already lapping under a minute, with Valtteri Bottas leading with a time of 0:55.154 ahead of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and Daniel Ricciardo’s Renault. Meanwhile, the Mercedes numbered 63 and driven by George Russell was one second behind Bottas, his new teammate for the weekend.

On their side, the newcomers were able to test the limits of their single-seaters, with Pietro Fittipaldi damaging his left front tire due to brake locking and Jack Aitken during a slightly too aggressive throttle application.

At the time of running, Max Verstappen tops the leaderboard with a time of 0:54.848 just ahead of Daniil Kvyat and George Russell. Meanwhile, Valtteri Bottas is struggling, unable to complete a fast lap on fresh tires, going off the track in the first and third sectors. Before starting the race simulations, George Russell ultimately records the best time of the session with a 0:54.546 ahead of the two Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Alex Albon.

Big scare for Alex Albon as he goes off at the second corner and brushes against the barrier, end of session for the young Thai driver with 20 minutes remaining in the practice.

Under the checkered flag, it’s a Brit who sets the fastest time of the session, but this time, it’s not Lewis Hamilton, but George Russell, his replacement for the weekend. The two Red Bulls closely follow George Russell’s Mercedes, ahead of a 4th place Valtteri Bottas in the session.

Free Practice 1 Results of the Sakhir GP