Britain’s George Russell is seeing a “great chance” ahead of him when he stands in for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for Sunday’s Sakhir Grand Prix after being released by Williams.
Hamilton, who has already clinched his seventh world championship, has been ruled out after testing positive for Covid-19.
Williams said Britain’s Jack Aitken, their official reserve driver, will make his F1 debut as Russell’s replacement alongside Canadian regular Nicholas Latifi.
Russell, 22, will be only the fifth driver to race for Mercedes since 2010 and the third Briton to do so in the Formula One world championship after Stirling Moss and Hamilton.
Russell, a former GP3 and Formula Two champion who has impressed in an uncompetitive car this year, will line up alongside Hamilton’s team mate Valtteri Bottas.
“I see this as a great chance to learn from the best outfit on the grid right now and to come back as an improved driver, with even more energy and experience to help push Williams further up the grid,” said Russell.
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