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Di Resta Expecting George Russell to ‘Very Easily’ Take Pole Position at Sakhir GP

Published 12/03/2020, 5:06 AM EST

George Russell will finally get his hands on the dominant Mercedes W11 for an entire race weekend at Sakhir Grand Prix. His incredible performance so far in Formula 1 has left the young Briton surrounded by a paddock with high expectations.

However, will Russell live up to the expectations this weekend and prove to be the right successor for a future drive in Mercedes? Well, the F1 expert, Paul di Resta, expects Russell to qualify in P1 and carry that momentum through the race.

What did di Resta say about George Russell?

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Speaking to SkySport, di Resta did not stop himself from weighing in on Russell’s upcoming highly anticipated weekend.

“Honestly, when you look at it and you see what Hulkenberg did when he stood in this year,” the Ex-Force India driver said. “You’d expect him to line up on the front row. He could very easily qualify in P1.”

A few days back, Lewis Hamilton tested positive for COVID-19 and is only the third driver this year to fall victim to the virus. Consequently, this ended up favoring Mercedes’s junior driver, Russell.

“The expectation going into a seven-time world champion’s car. It’s a very decent ask,” di Resta said. “He’s not having a test first. What he’s doing is going straight into where Lewis has left off.”

Following some discussions with Williams, Mercedes finally got the green light to bring in Russell for the second stint in Bahrain. Now, all eyes will be on the highly-rated Williams driver to put on a show in the absence of Hamilton.

Threats Russell could be facing in Bahrain

Russell never found time to sit inside the cockpit of Mercedes’s W11. However, his in-experience with the car is unlikely to affect his upcoming weekend.

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The fact that Russell has been exceptional in terms of adaptability will only help him get up to speed in no time. Hence, his eyes will be on the top step of the podium, going into the Grand Prix.

Consequently, the fans can very much expect some action from Russell, and a battle with his teammate, Valtteri Bottas. Apart from the teammate battle, there is another threat that could be looming over Russell, and that is Max Verstappen.

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Lewis’s absence will definitely open the door for Max to sneak his way up to the top by the end of this weekend. Hence, Russell will try not to provide such an opportunity to Max, and maintain a decent gap to keep the Dutch at bay in Bahrain.

Will Russell, against the odds, lift the big trophy by securing his first-ever F1 race win at Sakhir Grand Prix? We’ll find out soon enough.

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Written by:

Rohit Kumar is an F1 author at EssentiallySports. He has been an ardent follower of the racing series since 2007, with his love for the sport coinciding with his love for Kimi Raikkonen. He is also an ardent follower of Sebastian Vettel and Aston Martin Racing.

Di Resta Expecting George Russell to ‘Very Easily’ Take Pole Position at Sakhir GP

What did di Resta say about George Russell?

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Threats Russell could be facing in Bahrain