In a night of substitute drivers, George Russell finishes on top.
SAKHIR, Bahrain—Friday, December 4th—Was it the driver, car, or both? No matter the answer, there was an undebatable outcome on Friday evening at the Bahrain International Circuit. George Russell–who normally drives for Williams Racing but is subbing this weekend for COVID-stricken Lewis Hamilton–posted the fastest lap at 57.713 in the second session. He went even faster (54.546) earlier in the evening.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished second, and Sergio Perez, who’s driving in his next-to-last Grand Prix race, took third in the Racing Point.
In an evening of substitutes, Russell’s Williams’ replacement–test driver Jack Aiken–ended up 19th out of 20. And the second Haas–driven by another substitute, Pietro Fittipaldi (grandson of the legendary two-time champion Emerson)–finished 18th. Fittipaldi is in the seat normally occupied by Romain Grosjean, who was seriously injured last Sunday.
Friday wasn’t an easy go for either regular drivers or substitutes. That’s because the circuit being used for this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix is more of an oval type of track, noticeably shorter, and many drivers found it difficult driving, having to understeer, as many exceeded track limits and could not post a fast time.
Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, who joked earlier in the week that it would be embarrassing to be behind his substitute teammate, might have psyched himself out. The Finn could do no better than 11th overall, with many attempts being deleted because he exceeded track limits at the final corner and at turn eight.
And Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel nearly became an accident victim when he spun his car around a high-speed area of corners, nearly striking Haas F1’s Kevin Magnussen, who had to apply the brakes to avoid making it a two-car collision.
Vettel’s Ferrari partner, Charles Leclerc, never made it out of the track because of a driveshaft issue.
As for the rest on this Friday, Renault’s Esteban Ocon took fourth, while Red Bull’s Alexander Albon was fifth. Next was Dani Kvyat in the Alpha Tauri, and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll took seventh. The second Renault and Alpha Tauri’s of Daniel Ricciardo and Pierre Gasly were eighth and ninth, respectively, while McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr., who had steering problems all night, ended up tenth.
Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday night, in advance of Sunday’s race, which will be the prelude to the end of the 2020 schedule. The F1 finale will be held next Sunday in Abu Dhabi.
