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A star is born: Mercedes boss Toto Wolff on George Russell
Updated On: 08 December, 2020 08:30 AM IST | Manama | AFP
While Russell deserved acclaim from Wolff, others pointed out that he was not the only driver whose talent was hidden by machinery that was uncompetitive
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George Russell
Team chief Toto Wolff hailed George Russell as a new star on Monday after his storming drive for Mercedes in Sunday's Sakhir Grand Prix, while rival drivers said he had exposed Formula One's need for a more level playing field. Mercedes boss Wolff said the 22-year-old Briton, released by struggling Williams to stand in for Covid-19 victim seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, had exceeded expectations with a polished personal performance throughout the weekend. Russell said he was "gutted" after finishing ninth, having appeared to be set for victory before a rare bungled pit stop and a late slow puncture gave Racing Point's Sergio Perez his maiden win in his 190th race. "It won't have been his last attempt for victory," said Wolff.
"It's just the beginning of a fairy tale that didn't work out today. I would say that a new star has been born!" While Russell deserved acclaim from Wolff, others pointed out that he was not the only driver whose talent was hidden by machinery that was uncompetitive. "It's a shame that a guy that is fighting for P15 every weekend, suddenly when you put him in a race-winning car, he's 20-thousandths off pole," said McLaren's Ferrari-bound Carlos Sainz. "If anything, for me, this demonstrates what F1 is missing -- creating a much more incredible show if you could level the playing field and allow the driver to make more of a difference. "At the moment, when you are one second off the pace, or two seconds off the pace, you cannot really see the last two-tenths from a driver that makes a difference." His team-mate Lando Norris agreed, saying "a lot of drivers could do something similar" in a Mercedes, but he added that champion Hamilton had additional qualities.
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