George Russell still carries physical scars from squeezing into Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes W11 at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix.
The emotional scars at the time were also telling as Russell, who had yet to even score a point in Formula 1, had been in contention for a maiden Formula 1 Grand Prix win before a late puncture derailed his race.
George Russell reveals ‘scars’ from squeezing into Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes W11
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Russell, a Mercedes junior, was racing for Williams in his second season in the sport when Mercedes called him up to fill in for Hamilton at the Sakhir Grand Prix when the world champion tested positive for COVID-19.
The Briton climbed into the W11 on the Wednesday, and it was clear that not only was he, at 1.85m, a good 10 centimetres taller than Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, but his feet were also larger.
The Briton had to wear race boots that were two sizes too small in order to drive the W11.
Speaking on the SAP Significant Figures show, Russell said: “I got the phone call on the Tuesday. I jumped in the car on Wednesday to see if I fit, and I did not.
“It was Lewis and Valtteri Bottas who were the two drivers at the time. They are quite a bit shorter than me.
“I’ve also got quite big flipper feet as well, which is quite tight in a Formula 1 car. And I was scrunched in, bent over, my shoes didn’t fit. I’m a size 45, like 11.5, 11. And I had to wear size 43 shoes to fit in.”
The Briton, though, didn’t let on about his discomfort.
“They were asking me, ‘Is it OK?’,” he continued.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, totally fine. No issues, no issues. I’m driving, no matter what, I am driving this weekend.'”
Russell qualified the W11 in second place, missing out on a maiden pole position by 0.026s, and was in contention for the race win before a late puncture forced him into the pits for new tyres.
He emerged in 14th position and fought back to finish the Grand Prix in ninth place, earning his first F1 world championship points. He scored an additional point for the fastest lap of the race.
The race weekend left physical scars on Russell as he squeezed his lanky frame into the Mercedes F1 car.
“I’ve still got the scars on my hips,” he revealed.
As for the emotional side of the Sakhir weekend, while that hurt at the time, the scars disappeared quickly as Russell knew there would be more opportunities in the future.
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“This was my first shot,” he explained. “I mean, I hadn’t even scored a point until this point in my whole career because the team, as I said, we were so slow at Williams.
“I was on course to win the race and then it all got taken away. It was really tough, but I also knew what I showed in that race was enough that that would probably seal my future with this team.
“I knew my time would come. I sit here now, six years later, if I’d won that race or the race panned out the way it did, it hasn’t changed my life.
“You know, maybe if my career finished the year after because of an injury or something, and I never won a Formula 1 race, that would really affect me for the rest of my life.”
Russell spent a third season with Williams in 2021 before joining the Mercedes F1 team where he has won seven grands prix and is currently fighting for the F1 2026 world title.
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Originally published by Planet F1 —
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