Motorsport

GEORGE RUSSELL gave a glimpse into life after Lewis Hamilton by topping the timesheets for BOTH practices in place of the Covid-struck world champ.
Hamilton is lying low in a Bahraini hotel room after testing positive and has been replaced by his countryman for the Sakhir GP.

George Russell got off to a flyer as he replaces Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes this weekend in BahrainCredit: Splash News

Russell is on loan at Williams but was given permission to return after Hamilton caught CovidCredit: Splash News

And, despite wearing a size ten raceboot, rather than his usual size 11s, Russell quickly proved he is capable of filling Hamilton’s shoes when he does eventually quit F1.
Hamilton has not yet signed a new deal beyond this season and Russell is putting himself in the shop window to become his full-time replacement.
Russell, 22, was quicker than Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, in FP1 and FP2, with the Finn in danger of being upstaged.
But the young Brit played down his chances of winning Sunday’s race and said: “Just because I was quickest today it doesn’t mean I will be there tomorrow but we will see. We are getting better.

“I found it good. I am working with the best in business and learning every lap.”
Russell, who has not scored a single point in his previous 36 starts, could now be in for a podium finish.
But as he squeezes his 6ft 1in frame into Hamilton’s cockpit, he knows it won’t be a comfy run to the chequered flag.
He added: “I still have a lot of work to do to get comfortable in the car.

“I am pretty battered and bruised and we have gone through what needs to be changed in time for Sunday.
“There is so much to take in and learn and I am doing my absolute best to be as good as possible and it is tricky. It was a good first day but there is more to come.”

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Bottas is now under pressure to ensure he qualifies and finishes the race ahead of Russell on his Mercedes debut.
The Finn, who was down in 10th in FP1 and 11th during FP2, added: “It was quite a tricky day.
“In the first session the floor of the car was broken and the rest of FP1 was a waste.
“Second practice too was ok, I had one decent lap but that was deleted. Red Bull look quick and George looks quick, so there is still a bit of work for me to do.”
Merc boss Toto Wolff said that weekend was not a ‘shoot-out’ between the two for a spot in the team.
He said: “You can’t call it a ‘shoot-out’ when it’s about one or two races. That doesn’t give you any meaningful data whatsoever.
“If George does well it’s an indication that one day he’s going to be in a good car and hopefully race for victories and championships.

Valtteri Bottas (right) is racing with new team-mate George Russell (left)Credit: Splash News

Finn Bottas was sluggish in practice out in BahrainCredit: EPA
“But that is far away. He knows that. He just needs to deliver a solid job and not make any mistakes.
“We know that we [will] race next year with Lewis and Valtteri. Where we are in 2022 is not going to depend on George’s performance on an oval in Bahrain and in Abu Dhabi.”
Meanwhile, Wolff says Hamilton is ‘not great’ as he self-isolates and misses this weekend’s race in Bahrain – the first F1 race he has missed since his debut in 2007.
Wolff added: “Lewis is not great. Covid-19 is something you mustn’t take lightly and he is in safe hands, that is the most important.
“But it is those early days that are always not so nice. Mild symptoms and then obviously, as you can imagine, a race driver out of his car and combine it with Covid, he would rather sit in the garage.”
Wolff also says that he does not know how Hamilton picked up Covid-19 – believed to be at a private engagement in Dubai.
But nonetheless says he has not breached any team protocols in making his own travel arrangements.

Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton celebrate his seventh world titleCredit: Getty Images – Getty
He added: “Lewis doesn’t need to have permission from us. He arrives when he wants and jumps out of an airplane if he wants to.
“He is a grown up man and contracting Covid is just unfortunate. He has been protecting himself and wearing a mask. These things happen.”
Hamilton’s positive test means that Wolff has also had to put their contract talks on ice.
But with time ticking down on Hamilton’s deal, which expires on December 31, both he and Wolff know they need to get the contract signed.
He said: “The timeline for the contract is being pushed back until he recovers.
“We know we need to get it done but the priority is getting him back on his feet and then we will meet or on Zoom and put pen to paper.”

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MICK SCHUMACHER was involved in a horror crash in Formula 2 qualifying as Roy Nissany’s car MOUNTED on top of him.
The son of Ferrari F1 legend Michael, Schumacher’s nasty collision came days after it was announced he would graduate to F1 in 2021.

Mick Schumacher’s F2 crash where Roy Nissany slammed into his backCredit: Formula 2

The two cars spun off the track in qualifying in BahrainCredit: Formula 2

Prema Racing’s Schumacher is believed to have escaped unscathed from the incident – just a week after Romain Grosjean’s near-death F1 smash at the same track shocked the motorsport world.
But his discontent was audible as he fumed on the team radio ‘why is this guy crashing into me?’.
The 21-year-old will drive for Haas next season, following in the footsteps of his famous father who won seven F1 world titles.
Schumacher is currently leading the F2 championship by 14 points from Brit Callum Ilott and can clinch the title this weekend in Bahrain.

He will partner fellow rookie Nikita Mazepin, the son of a Russian billionaire, next season.
Schumacher shared his joy at the news, saying: “The prospect of being on the Formula 1 grid next year makes me incredibly happy and I’m simply speechless.
“I would like to thank Haas F1 Team, Scuderia Ferrari and the Ferrari Driver Academy for placing their trust in me.
“I also want to acknowledge and extend my love to my parents – I know that I owe them everything.

“I have always believed that I would realise my dream of Formula 1.
“A huge thank you must also go to all the great motorsport fans out there who have supported me throughout my career.
“I will give it my all, as I always do, and I look forward to going on this journey together with Haas F1 and them.”

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F1 star Romain Grosjean has admitted accepting that he was going to die in his fiery crash in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The Frenchman was involved in a terrifying accident when he crashed at 140mph and his car split into two and instantly ignited in a fireball.

F1 star Romain Grosjean has admitted he thought he was gonna die in his fireball crashCredit: Splash News

🗣️ “I thought about my kids and I said to myself ‘I cannot die today'”Romain Grosjean spoke exclusively to @SkySportsF1 about just how he managed to get out of his horrific crash in the Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend pic.twitter.com/11D9TmubjQ
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) December 4, 2020

He was trapped in his car for more than 20 seconds after the smash but incredibly walked away with only burns on his hands and ankles.
And Grosjean, released from hospital on Wednesday, admitted he was at ‘peace with death’ as he recounted his incredible ordeal.
He told Sky Sports News: “Let me relive those 28 seconds and bring you with me.
“For me, it wasn’t quite 28 seconds; it felt more like a minute 30, if I had to put a time on it.

“When the car came to a stop I opened my eyes and unclicked my seatbelt straight away.
“The thing I didn’t remember the next day is what I did with the steering wheel as I didn’t have the memory of taking it off and they said, ‘no, the steering wheel’s gone in between your legs, the column and everything broke and went down’. So I didn’t have to bother with the steering wheel.
“So I go to jump out and I feel like something is touching my head, so sit back down in the car. My first thought is I’m going to wait, I’m upside down against the wall so I’ll wait for someone else to come and helps me.
“I wasn’t stressed and not aware there was fire, but then I looked right and left and saw on the left there is a fire.

And then there’s the less pleasant moment where my body starts to relax, I’m in peace with myself and I’m going to die
Romain Grosjean

“So, OK, I don’t really have the time to wait here, next time I try to go up a bit more on the right, it doesn’t work, go on the left, doesn’t work, sit back down and I thought about Niki Lauda, his accident, thought it couldn’t end like this, it couldn’t be my last race, it couldn’t finish like this, no way. So I try again and I’m stuck and so I go back down.
“And then there’s the less pleasant moment where my body starts to relax, I’m in peace with myself and I’m going to die.
“I ask my question, is it going to burn my shoe or my foot or my hand is it going to be painful, where’s it going to start. And I mean, to me that looks like 2-3-4 seconds but I guess it was milliseconds at the time.
“Then I think about my kids, and I say no they cannot lose their dad today. So I don’t know why I did what I did but I decided to turn my helmet on the left hand side and to go up like this and try and twist my shoulder.

Grosjean thought of his three children as he pulled himself from the burning wreckage on Sunday

The Haas racer has spoken of his ordeal in the Bahrain Grand Prix
“That sort of works, but then I realise my foot is stuck in the car so I sit back down, pull as hard as I can on my left leg, the shoe stayed with my foot was but my foot came out of the shoe.
“Then I do it again and my shoulders are going through and by the time the shoulder was through I know I’m going to jump out, so I’ve got both hands on the fire at that time, I see my gloves, which are normally red, I see especially the left one changing colour and starting melting and going full black.
“I feel the pain my hands are in the fire but also I feel the relief that I am out of the car, and then I jump out, go on the barrier, feel Ian [Roberts, the FIA doctor] pulling on my overall so I know I am not on my own anymore and there is someone with me.
“I land and they touch on my back so I’m like, ‘Oh s***, I am a running fireball!’ The image that you know we’ve seen on the video the FIA shows us where they do a test, put someone on fire, and run around to show the overall was strong.

I think about my kids, and I say no they cannot lose their dad today.
Romain Grosjean

“Then I shake my hand as they’re very hot and painful, I removed the gloves straightaway as I’ve got this image that the skin is bubbling and melting and is going to stick to the gloves, so straight away I want to remove the gloves… the skin doesn’t go with it.
“Then Ian comes to see me and speaks to me and says, “sit down!’ and I gave him s***, I said, ‘talk to me normally please’, I guess he understood at that time that I was OK, I was normal.
“Then we sit and we are too close to the fire, I hear the guys with the extinguisher say the battery is on fire bring some other extinguishers, then we go into the medical car, sit down, they put some cold compress on my hand as I told them my hands are burning and my foot is broken.
“Then the pain really starts going very high, especially on the left foot, the hands were okay at the time but the left foot starts being very painful.
“Ian explains the ambulance is coming and they’re going to come with the bed and you’re going to be OK and we keep talking at the time. I say, ‘no now we walk to the ambulance, they say ‘no, no the bed is coming’, I say ‘no, no, no, I walk out of the car, and say we are walking’, ‘okay we’ll help you’.

“I guess on the medical side it wasn’t a perfect decision but they understood for me it was key there was footage of me walking towards the ambulance, so even though I walked out of the fire I needed to send another strong message that I was okay and I was going to walk towards the ambulance.
“Then every time I met anyone I said two burnt hands one broken foot, that’s all I could say to everyone I was meeting, just because I was scared obviously of my conditions and I wanted everyone who was coming and treating me to know that what my symptoms were.
“So I guess that is the full story of 28 seconds and then the rest, as you can imagine, it felt longer than 28 seconds with all the thoughts I had, it must have been milliseconds, but all the thoughts looked to me like 1-2-3 seconds.”

Grosjean was forced to clamber out of his burning Haas car after it split in twoCredit: Splash News

The Frenchman somehow escaped with only minor injuries

Romain Grosjean returns to Bahrain F1 paddock to meet rescuers just four days after miraculous crash escape More

ROMAIN GROSJEAN returned to the site of his horror crash just four days after his miraculous escape.
The Haas driver, 34, was back at the Bahrain F1 track on Thursday, meeting the rescuers who helped him get away from the fireball in last weekend’s Grand Prix.

Romain Grosjean returned to the Sakhir paddock just four days after his horror crash with his hands bandagedCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Grosjean lost control and drove directly into crash barriers at 140mph after clipping Daniil Kvyat’s car.
His car split in two and was then instantly engulfed by flames as marshals rushed to help the French driver out of the wreckage.
He was trapped in his car for more than 20 seconds after the smash but incredibly walked away with only burns on his hands and ankles.
And the Frenchman, released from hospital on Wednesday, headed back to the Sakhir circuit where he was reunited with some of the medical team first on the scene to assist him.

Grosjean had bandages on his hands and left foot as he was supported by wife Marion.
They met with his Haas team again, as well as FIA Medical Car driver Alan van der Merwe and FIA medical delegate Ian Roberts, who helped haul him over the barrier to escape the blaze.
And Formula One chiefs have confirmed changes will be made in the wake of the horror scenes on Sunday.
Bosses have added rows of tyre barriers to help prevent a repeat of Grosjean’s fiery smash.

And while this weekend’s race features a new layout, it still passes through the same section where Grosjean crashed, so safety improvements have been made.
FIA Race Director, Michael Masi said: “The tyre barrier on the right hand side of T9 will be extended and increased in depth to four rows of tyres with conveyor belt.
“The right hand kerb between T8 and T9 will be removed to reduce the risk of a car becoming airborne while the outer circuit layout is being used.”
The circuit is an oval layout where F1 records are set to be broken. A lap time of just 55 seconds is expected for qualifying.
Grosjean will not compete in this weekend’s race but could be in action the following week in Abu Dhabi.
Meanwhile, Kevin Magnussen says team-mate Grosjean cannot wait to get back in the car for the season finale.
The Haas driver added: “I went to see him on Sunday a few hours after he escaped from that scene and immediately then he was talking about getting back in the car.”

Grosjean was reunited with FIA Medical Car driver Alan van der Merwe, left, and FIA medical delegate Ian RobertsCredit: Splash News

Roberts was the man who helped Grosjean jump the barrier and escape the infernoCredit: Splash News

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