George Russell, the promising driver of Williams revealed that last year’s Sakhir Grand Prix was a turning point in his career. The Briton prodigy talked about how he had to battle with the other drivers as well as his mental health all during his race.
Having finished at P2 in qualification and then letting go of the Championship and finishing at P9 due to technical faults was too much to take for a rookie like Russell. George, 23 got so disappointed that he had to consult a psychologist to deal with the damage done.
George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W11 makes a pitstop during the F1 Grand Prix of Sakhir at Bahrain International Circuit on December 06, 2020 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
Talking to the British newspaper The I, the young Brit conveyed, “I was never one of these people who thought mental health is not that important and you’re either mentally strong or mentally weak or whatever and you just got to be strong about it if you’ve ever had a difficult moment, toughen up and get through it.”
George Russell in 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix
It all started when George replaced Covid-struck Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in last year’s Sakhir Grand Prix. Russell wasn’t a well known name in Formula One circuit until the speedster qualified at P2 in final qualification for the Silver Arrows.
In this regard, George further asserted to the newspaper, “I qualified second in the Sakhir Grand Prix. And I was disappointed. My best qualifying position until that point was P12, which I was absolutely ecstatic about, and then I’d just qualified second and I was disappointed.”
DHL AWARDS: 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix
Fastest Lap: @GeorgeRussell63
Fastest Pit Stop: @redbullracing #SakhirGP 🇧🇭 #MomentsThatDeliver @DHL_Motorsports pic.twitter.com/e4y3RYQswG
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 7, 2020
The promising Williams driver however started the new season with P14 at this year’s Sakhir Circuit and is placed at the same P14 in the driver’s standings. The formula one pundits believe Russell has the potential to drive for too teams like Mercedes, Red Bull or McLaren.
There were talks that the young Briton might join the reigning champions Mercedes at the beginning of this year or in coming years. The team management, fans and pundits believe Russell is one such driver to look out for this year after coming back strong from last year’s disappointment.
