Testimony from Bahrain: “A Star is born”

GEORGE RUSSELL: Lewis Hamilton's replacement is the tragic hero of this penultimate race of the season in Bahrain. 22-year-old George Russell did everything necessary to crown his first outing in the Mercedes with his first victory - things beyond his control prevented this, on several occasions. He overcame his team's apparently crucial mistake in choosing tires, but as he reached for the lead again, a puncture stopped him. The disappointment was great. By Monday morning at the latest, Russell should realize what a brilliant application he has submitted. The future will belong to the man from the Mercedes youth team. “A star is born,” said team boss Toto Wolff.

VALTTERI BOTTAS: And if Lewis Hamilton doesn't lose interest in Formula 1 in the near future, then number two will have to give way to Russell. At least that would be the logical decision. Valtteri Bottas has one more year left on his contract, and by then there will hardly be any arguments for the Finn and against Russell. However, Bottas has been so weak in the past few weeks that this Sunday in Bahrain is likely to have an impact: the discussions as to whether Mercedes should rely on Russell in 2021 will now gain momentum.

MERCEDES: Because Mercedes isn't just fighting for the drivers' title, it's also about the team world championship, and Valtteri Bottas in his current form is a risk for this project. In addition, an early promotion of Russell is also an advantage for Mercedes: The 22-year-old could grow alongside Hamilton and seamlessly continue his dominance after his career ends at the latest, he seems strong enough for that. However, team boss Wolff emphasized in Bahrain that they wanted to stick to contracts. Either way, this weekend revealed that Mercedes can look to the future quite relaxed. This makes the hair-raising and one-off errors in the box a little easier to endure.

Sergio Perez could hardly believe his luck. © APA/afp / KAMRAN JEBREILI

SERGIO PEREZ: As is always the case, when the really big ones stumble spectacularly, the beneficiaries go under a little. In Sergio Perez's case, it's worth taking a look: the Mexican has been one of the best drivers in Formula 1 for a decade, but he has never been in a winning car. His career could end next week because Sebastian Vettel will replace him at Racing Point - Aston Martin from 2021. And Perez doesn't yet have a cockpit for the new season. In his 190th race, his first victory came out of nowhere. And that despite the fact that Perez had already fallen back to 18th place after an early ramming from Charles Leclerc (Ferrari). At Red Bull, Perez will be given small chances next year. And maybe they got a little bigger on Sunday.

SEBASTIAN VETTEL: The Heppenheimer summed up his penultimate race for Ferrari aptly. His performance was “irrelevant,” he said; beyond good and evil, Vettel was once again on the road in twelfth place. He didn't really seem to care anymore. What he can take away from the weekend is definitely this: his future team is chasing the top. In addition to the winner Perez, his stable rival Lance Stroll also landed on the podium in third place. Vettel can look forward to 2021.

SAYING OF THE WEEKEND : “I’ve lost victories before. But twice in one race? That was new.” (George Russell on his stirring first appearance in the Mercedes.)

>>>Click here for the detailed race report

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

Testimony from Bahrain: “A Star is born”

While Sergio Perez celebrated his first Grand Prix victory on Sunday, George Russel experienced a strange Mercedes debut. The maturity certificate from the Grand Prix in Bahrain.

Suggestions