Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Nurburgring, 2020

Hamilton tests negative for Covid-19, will return to race in Abu Dhabi

2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Posted on

| Written by

Lewis Hamilton has tested negative for Covid-19 and will return to the cockpit at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

A joint statement issued by the FIA, Formula 1 and Mercedes confirmed Hamilton has “returned a number of negative Covid-19 tests.”

“He has completed his 10-day quarantine in Bahrain and was free to leave the country according to the Bahraini health authority regulations,” said the statement. “Lewis has now arrived in Abu Dhabi following confirmation from the authorities that he could do so and after quarantining has now received a further negative test result.

“The FIA Covid-19 protocols remain clear and have not changed. A negative pre-test result is necessary to be given access to the Formula 1 paddock as set out in Appendix S to the International Sporting Code and another negative test result no more than 24 hours following arrival is required. Lewis, having now tested negative in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi will be granted access to the paddock.

“The FIA, Formula 1 and Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team can today confirm that Lewis Hamilton has returned a number of negative Covid-19 tests.”

Hamilton originally tested positive for Covid-19 on the Monday following the Bahrain Grand Prix. Mercedes confirmed he subsequently tested negative yesterday “prior to completion of his self-isolation period in Bahrain.”

He subsequent travelled to Abu Dhabi today, where he completed a further Covid-19 test and was gain found to be free of the virus.

“Lewis has therefore completed the protocols required by the FIA for his entry to the paddock tomorrow and will be able to take part in the race weekend,” Mercedes added.

Hamilton’s return to action means George Russell will not be required as a substitute and return to Williams for this weekend’s race. Jack Aitken, who substituted for Russell at the Sakhir Grand Prix, will therefore not take part in this weekend’s race.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

2020 F1 season

Browse all 2020 F1 season articles

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

116 comments on “Hamilton tests negative for Covid-19, will return to race in Abu Dhabi”

  1. Well I’m not going to lie, I’m a little disappointed. Wish Lewis the best of health obviously, but I did really want to see Russell in action in a Merc again.

    1. Me too, as meanish as it is. But that just shows how predictable and stale F1 is. Only two cars are truly racing, so we hope for some excitement where we can find it.

    2. Agreed. Happy that Lewis is recovered and healthy, but disappointed Russell couldn’t get another crack at it.

    3. Ditto. Still rather unimpressed that Toto has left Russell in Williams for 3 years while Norris and Albon, whom he vanquished, have had a chance to compete for podiums in F1. Would love to understand his thinking. The reality of Bottas struggling to hang onto 2nd in the WDC against Verstappen this year, and failing that badly in 2018, is an indicator that MB need a better driver to mop up the points alongside Hamilton.

      1. Hiring Russell is a risk to an intra team fight for the title, meaning Toto will lose control. Toto doesn’t like to lose control.

      2. I agree with you, it is a shame to see Russell struggle in the slowest team…. maybe Mercedes could have moved him up sooner, but that chance is now long gone. Bottas has another 1 year contract and they are not the type of team to commit and then change their mind. That’s part of how they’ve become such a strong team.

        1. Agree with everyone above.

          One thing I have been wondering regarding Russell in the Williams, is to what extent does driving a “bad” car help to develop transferable skills that help when you are driving a “good” car in dirty air? Is Russell’s experience from the Williams part of why he could carve through the field with such apparent ease, or was it purely down to relative age of tyres (both after the botched pitstop, and again after the puncture)?

      3. @salty I think Merc wanted to get Russell for 2021 but Williams when run by the Williams family did not want to let him go. I would think Merc decided not to push the issue as Bottas is doing a satisfactory job, as we’ve seen with another WMC this year. I would say Merc are aiming for a Russell 2022 and Ocon in a couple of years dependant on Hamilton.

    4. Yep, me too.

      My opinion is it would be best for Hamilton to sit this one out. He doesn’t have anything to prove, and even with a negative test he might not be 100% ready.

      Hopefully he is ready and will have a great race

      1. Yes. It all depends how badly he had it.

        Perez seemed to bounce back, but Stroll was poor after returning so it could go either way. Hopefully he feels good.

        Sad for Russell. I know people don’t like the idea, but I wouldn’t object to the idea of the top teams having 3 cars. Potentially there could be seat sharing too. So Perez and Albon get half the races each next year. They wouldn’t like that, and couldn’t fight for a world championship, but it sort of solves the problem.

        1. That would be unfair toward other teams, no matter how you do it. Those cars would affect other teams’ races. Top teams don’t need even extra advantage, that’d be terrible for the sport.

    5. And again this is against WHO rules. He should be at 13 days on isolation – 10 days since first symptoms + 3 days without symptoms. He can’t leave place of isolation up until sunday, as first symptoms and first test were done on monday november 30.

      1. WHO are a joke.

      2. This we don’t for sure when Lewis had the first indiacation (could be a day) but the 10 days are standard international. Question is still in which chape Lewis will be in he started training just a few days ago while he had mild symptones he was very sick for a few days before feeling better again. On thing we can be for sure he isn’t 100% but he doesn’t need to be 100% either (think last year in Germany) to do very good here.

      3. Dave (@davewillisporter)
        11th December 2020, 8:22

        @regs So, F1 has run a 17 race season during one of the worst pandemics in modern history across multiple countries with differing approaches to containing the virus and here we are at race 17. Do you not think they know what they’re doing yet? Has anyone in F1 died as a result of their management of this thing? Have vast numbers of people been infected within F1?

      4. This is FIA country. The FIA listens and reports to no one. They are the law

        1. Dave (@davewillisporter)
          11th December 2020, 9:10

          Wrong! The FIA have established working rules with every government of every country they’ve raced in, including Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.

      5. I think the FIA and Merc have checked what I’d legal and what is not.

  2. This is actually huge for him. If he wins this race, he will have 12 in a season, which would be a new personal best for him. I don’t know how will he perform though, but in Germany last year, he was sick and he put the car on pole position by a big margin. This is different though with Covid-19…

    Nice to see him back as it does not look good to see him out of the race… as much as I desire to see Russell have a chance for payback. He also forgot to chant the incantation “Bono my tyres are gone” for the “Insta win”.

    1. TBF to George he did say ‘losing power’ and then set the fastest lap. Reasonably pleased Hamilton is back for no other reason than I didn’t want the possibility of George putting in a lacklustre weekend. The Sakhir race is the ideal calling card for George. Surely Toto has to put him in the car in 22 now.

      1. There’s actually a great video with James Allison explaining the losing power thing and how sensors work and how they had to get George to shut one down, which then came back to life, and having to keep the FIA one running. It’s a bit complicated but he does a great job of simplifying it. But for periods George was down on a bit of power.

        1. You have a link to that? It sounds interesting and I was wondering what happened last week and how they solved the power issue.

          1. @danarcha I’m not sure if you’re allowed to leave links on here (apologies Keith etc if not). But it’s about the 4 minute mark to 8 minute mark. I think James speaks very well, better than how I could try and describe it.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG7TP1lARDM

        2. Yes, I watch them regularly. To me the significant George/Ham comparison during the race was the ‘tyres good, car balanced’ remark from George whilst Bottas was struggling with his. George did say that he took advice from Ham when he was the test driver on managing tyres. Something that Bottas has had trouble mastering.
          Hopefully if George ends up in the other seat he will be more of a challenger to Ham in this area of racecraft.

          1. Compared to the Williams, driving with a missing wheel would be ‘tyres good, car balanced’

        3. James Allison is great at dumbing things down but not TOO far down.

      2. The radio messages are delayed on the broadcast.

    2. @krichelle
      There are 23 races next season, Mercedes will remain dominant and Bottas will remain his teammate, so he’s basically guaranteed the record for next season.

    1. Agreed, I think I will just watch the highlights this time.

      1. Why bother watching at all if you feel that way? Maybe there’s a Scandinavian knitting programme you’d enjoy?

      2. Agree, and abu dhabi is a terrible track for racing too, unless something big happens to shake it up might be one of the worst races of the year.

  3. Well I’m happy he’s come through it, and I hope he is feeling well. A little disappointed for George, but this did seem like the most likely scenario. I’m sure we’ll see George in a quick car again one day.

      1. “Fecal matter”, Bourgeoisie enough for you?

        1. Even more classy
          Keep it up sweetheart

      1. Goddamit

  4. I’m glad he’s ok. I’m a fan in general, he is a fantastic racer and great to watch, but I’d have liked to have seen Russell in the car again this weekend

  5. Happy for Lewis. But man, I was hoping for a round 2!!

    Now that Lewis is back and Abu Dhabi as a track is oh-so-boring, I think i might just not turn on the TV for this one.

    1. Of course you will turn on your tv.
      You got nothing better to do than watch Hamilton wins on 3 weels or on finished rain tyres to entertain you.
      And you cant even appreciate it.

  6. Yes (@come-on-kubica)
    10th December 2020, 18:10

    Oh man. No reason to watch this dull Mercedes 1 2

    1. Why wouldn’t it be Merc 1-2 without Lewis? SOmething to think about?

  7. I, like a few others, wanted Russell to get another chance immediately, especially after the lost shot at a maiden race win through no fault of his own, but not the end of the world. Hamilton is, after all, a regular driver for the team, so he’s the priority. No reason not to participate unless a definite must.

  8. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Russell inside the Mercedes and was hoping he’d get another chance this weekend, but having put in such a stellar performance anything but a win second time out would have seemed like a disappointment for many.

    If there’s one silver lining to Hamilton coming back, it’s that Russell will always be remembered for having a blinder and will end the season with a boost to his reputation. Nothing that happens this weekend now can tarnish that.

  9. I have nothing against Lewis and am glad he’s okay, but the race just became so much less interesting.
    The intrigue of how Russell would do against Bottas in the Merc or if Latifi could beat Aitken are gone.

    1. @x1znet An exciting race is achievable with or without Lewis.

      1. Correct! I wonder why it’s so important seeing how George would do against Valterri? Is Valterri now the benchmark? Or is it indirect way to try and compare George with Lewis?
        The he beat X so that means he would beat Y is a nonsensical way to try and substantiate a drivers ability Vs another.
        THIS is why many want George to race this weekend. Be honest!

        1. It’s not specifically about seeing the Russell vs Bottas matchup. It’s just the unknown (or lesser known) variables in throws into the race. We’ve seen the Bottas vs Hamilton show close to a hundred times, and we know how it usually plays out. If Hamilton leads into turn 1, it’s over. If Bottas leads into turn 1, we might have a race. With Russell/Bottas we don’t have much information on how they will compare in terms of race pace, tyre management etc having only seen them compete directly in one event, so there will naturally be much greater interest in how the race between them unfolds.

          And the other side of it – one more race for Lewis in a Mercedes will not change his life, whether he wins or loses. One race for Russell in the Mercedes at this stage of his career could be hugely significant – a win would be a massive boost to his confidence and reputation (even though he would’ve gained a lot of both last weekend), and a loss would still be valuable experience to him.

          Of course I share most people’s sentiments in that I’m glad to see Hamilton recover quickly and seem to be back to full health, but I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t make the prospect of the upcoming race much less interesting.

      2. Lewisham Milton
        10th December 2020, 20:19

        Not in Abu Dhabi it’s not…

        1. lol, second that. It’s called the Petrov effect.

  10. As others have said, while I wish Lewis well, from the perspective of wanting an interesting race this is disappointing news.

    Now, what would be REALLY interesting is it Lewis went and did the race in the Williams, and let GR drive the Mercedes. Lewis has already sown up the championship, and it’s unlikely to make a difference in the constructor’s championship (unless he does incredibly well in the Williams), but it would be REALLY interesting to watch, and a way for Lewis to prove the depth of his talents ;)

    1. Let’s see how many you catch with that pearler!

  11. Be ironic if Russell finishes 8th and therefore finishes higher in a back-of-the-grid Williams than he managed in a front-of-the-grid Mercedes…..

  12. Help me out here guys. How does Lewis make the races boring? Is it that he makes winning look easy? Wouldn’t it be the same boring race if George was to win from lights to flag and Valtteri comes home behind making it a Mercedes 1-2?

    My assumption (taken from some commenters on here) is that George is just as good as Lewis, so wouldn’t we be watching the same boring race regardless of who is driving the car next to Valtteri?

    1. @lums Indeed. I couldn’t have put it any better.

    2. Yes (@come-on-kubica)
      10th December 2020, 19:29

      But you’re applying 2 different scenarios here. A man who has dominated the season compared to a new guy in the car and the intrigue behind it. Abuse Dhabi is an appalling circuit especially as a season ender. Having someone else in the mercedes is immediately more interesting as it’s new. Itll be the same as if Bottas was dropped for a race

    3. @lums, to me there is a difference in having Russell scoring his first win, even if it’s lights to flag, than Hamilton. Is a novelty, a new guy winning, even if the race is as boring. It would also be another interesting result to evaluate Bottas as a new guy comes and “dominates” him.
      The other way around would also be interesting, Bottas dominating the weekend with Russell a a clear second. That scenario allows for other interpretations…

      So even though the race could still be boring, a different result than Hamilton dominating is at least a “change” in the “natural order”.

      But I understand your point, I’d there is still lack of fighting for the win. Still with no Hamilton the race is less predictable.

      1. @bakano
        Okay, I can understand the excitement from the point of George being the change from the norm.

        Would rather watch a race btw Lewis and George. Now that would be more interesting.

        I feared a damage in reputation for George if he was to drive this weekend and not win.

    4. Did you not watch last weekend’s race yet? Okay, won’t spoil it for you, but probably need to watch that one. Once you have, take a look at nearly every major journalistic commentary on it. And then peruse the comments from the F1 fans.

      Not about Lewis. Think everyone wishes him well.

    5. Lewis does make winning look easy! If you ask people to name “spectacular drivers”, I don’t think Lewis is on many lists — but his accomplishments are spectacular.
      Last week, I was paying attention to the Merc leading the race more than I have in many years, because the question was whether George could mimic Lewis.
      You’re right that the race (last weeks or this weekends) might be identical regardless of whether Lewis or George is driving, but the perception is very different when it’s George because he has yet to prove he is as good as Lewis.

      That being said, even if Abu Dhabi turns out to be the most boring processional race of the season, we had a fantastic season of racing (one of the few silver-linings of 2020).

    6. “..how does Lewis make the races boring?”
      Because hes the best driver on the grid and it grinds some people’s gears

  13. I am hoping for George to be handed over Bottas’ seat NEXT year pleaseeee

  14. I am not watching the Abu Dhabi race. Disinterested

    1. @V
      I am not going to work tomorrow. Disinterested.

    2. Sky has just lost a million viewers!

    3. Ta ta then. Have a weekend off with your family.

    4. I am not going to see Williams being cursed again just like at Imola. Disinterested.

  15. Looks like another Hamilton snooze fest then….bor-ring

    1. Sure, watching the best do their thing is always boring for those people who never do their best.

  16. petebaldwin (@)
    10th December 2020, 19:54

    Well that’s freed up my weekend to play Cyberpunk.

    1. And THATS more interesting? Horses for courses I guess

    2. I save that for christmas when i have a couple of days off :) cyberpunk 1077 the long way ofcourse.

  17. …. but will the other drivers regard Lewis same as they did before, now that George has spectacularly shown us what that car can do???

    1. And more importantly will or should Hamilton care what other drivers think?

      1. Dont feed Rodber. This news will make him particularly hungry.

    2. What, that it is significantly slower than Bottas during the first two corners, that on new tyres it can overtake the other one on old. Or that its getaway off the line wasn’t as perfect as the Bottas one?

  18. It is very funny to see the level of fantasy in the comments regarding the new darling of the English press.
    Welcome Champion Lewis. It will be a real pleasure to see you win the last race of the 2020 championship.
    Or at least try to win it, as you have always done for years.

  19. I think the whole saga was a publicity beat-up.

  20. Meanwhile I’m still waiting for him or the team to announce what will happen after the season finale.

    1. Lewis and MB will sign a 2 or 3 year contract. That’s what will happen. And the terms will be confidential, as they should be.

      1. And article 2 will state, that as long as they win both titles Lewis has Veto on #2 driver.

        1. Dave (@davewillisporter)
          11th December 2020, 8:35

          @jureo Fun quote from Max in Dutch press:
          “I became a better driver and learned from mistakes. I was always fast, but experience counts. I now know better when to take risks and when not. For example in the first lap”
          Guess he realises 2015 to 2020 wasn’t his best unlike some of his fans!

          1. I like verstappen’s honesty, to some people he might come across as arrogant to say “I was always fast”, but not to me, it’s the truth, when having discussions with my father, who’s also a f1 fan, he was saying russel impressed and in his opinion he’s above verstappen and by far above leclerc, and that he could give competition to hamilton, I answered that verstappen is incredibly fast, probably faster than hamilton, experience is where hamilton has the edge.

          2. Dave (@davewillisporter)
            11th December 2020, 9:23

            @esploratore Totally agree. I think Lewis has lost a tenth or two since his early years but has gained a PHD in how to win races and championships. Both drivers have remarked that they are way better now than they were at the beginning of their F1 careers. Lewis was much better prepared when he came into F1 than Max was (a testament to Ron’s OCD and the race for perfection that Lewis has built in to his psyche.) Seeing Max pull out of that corner in Sakhir instead of sticking it in between two cars proved to me he’s at a similar level now. Fast and intelligent.

  21. Boooooo, I mean great for Hamilton, but not great for the sport.

    We want Russel.

    1. Errrrr… bit shameless isnt it? Lewis has just recovered from a potentially fatal virus to take the seat that he contractually owns and all you have to say is “boooooo”? Oh dear.

    2. It will happen once Bottas’ form isn’t good

  22. I don’t really see the point, to be honest.

    It’s the last race of the season, He’s had the title sewn up for a while, The team have the constructors and he’s been unwell.

    Covid is an odd one. You can feel better, test negative, then randomly feel awful again days down the line.

    Surely it’s better to just sit out a meaningless race, not chance an under par performance brought on from the remnants of being unwell, and come back at pre season testing 100% fit and ready to go?.

    It’s not even like it’s a nice track to just go an have fun on…..

    1. Dave (@davewillisporter)
      11th December 2020, 8:38

      @mrcento The fact that it is irrelevant and he is still desperate to get back in the car is testament to his commitment to his sport. So many people criticise, best car, team mate sabotaged, number one driver, blah blah. That right there is why he’s got all the records. Commitment.

  23. Glad Lewis is back, I enjoyed watching Russell make Valtteri look like an old lady but the weekend felt weird without Lewis. What all of you should be saying is you wanted to see Russell go up against Lewis this weekend. Probably feels better on the top step if you had to beat the best.

  24. I don’t believe Russell would have beaten Bottas this weekend.
    And for that reason alone I wish he did race this weekend, but theres
    Nothing like a bruised ego to get results and this is a track that Bottas does well on.
    I think even Bottas is shocked at his own results.
    It is only fitting though that Lewis races in the last race of the season.
    Something would be missing if he did not.
    He is after all 7 times WDC this year!!
    I am so glad he has tested neg and is good to go.
    I have been driving since I was 12 and officially from the age of 18 and in all these years no one has ever driven a car that I owned. I wonder how many of you out there have also never let anyone else drive your car?
    And, in saying that, Lewis might feel the same way. That he’s private space has been violated in a manner of speaking. This is after all the car that he has driven for 15 races.
    I would call in my favourite witchdoctor and have the car cleansed!! Joking ofcourse!

  25. Best driver back in the best car? Can’t say I’ll bother watching it.

  26. I believe that Russel will go to merc in 2022 but not along side Hamilton. Hamilton will get the 8th WDC next year and then move to somewhere like Ferrari or another team to see out his last cpl years with the new format.

    As great as it would be to see Hamilton and Russell together. It will never happen

    1. Dave (@davewillisporter)
      11th December 2020, 8:41

      What’s it like to be you? Everything must be a surprise you didn’t see coming! Toast pops out of the toaster…. “No way! Didn’t see that coming!”

  27. This is the best news of the week! I just hope Lewis will take it slowly, step by step – not pushing much until Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying session.

  28. Nice to see the authorities saw fit to not impose the 4 day self-isolation requirement for F1 arrivals after the 8th December. One rule for them …….

    1. That is why they are in a biosphere which they can’t leave at all. It’s airport test then hotel on track and the wall around that area are really big 4-5m high it allmost looks like a prision (a golden one)

    2. Dave (@davewillisporter)
      11th December 2020, 9:30

      @mrfill The rule you state doesn’t exist. You think 2000 people sat in hotel rooms on their own without seeing a single other person face to face for 4 days from Monday to Thursday? The Yas Marina Island is locked down to outside travel, not the F1 community.

  29. What is the point for Merc to have LH show up when the WDC and WCC are over? Better to field an upcoming driver and keep their skills sharp and gain experience.

  30. I think there will be a lot of pressure within Daimler, from F1 ownership itself, people like Bernie giving his 2 pence to stir the pot, telling the Merc team to put Russell in Bottas’s seat for 2021.

    Mercedes will hold a similar advantage next year because we effectively have the same cars. They will win both championships no matter the driver combination, but surely they would rather draw eyeballs to races and to their success by making it competitive up front. Hamilton and Russell could take each other out in half a dozen races and Mercedes would still romp to both titles.

    It’s like when Leclerc went to Ferrari and was immediately on Vettel’s pace in Australia. Went to Bahrain and beat Vettel comfortably.

    Vettel’s days were numbered from that point on.

    Let’s say Verstappen got COVID and Tsunoda replaced him, with himTsunoda immediately being on Albon’s pace and then beating him comfortably in the race despite the cockpit being set up to Verstappen’s liking, trying to figure out the limits of the car, etc.

    If Albon had a contract for next year there would be no way that RBR wouldn’t put Tsunoda in a RBR for 2021 at the expense of Albon.

    People like to criticise RBR, but they have earnestly tried to find a competitive number two driver. They have a merit based system of promotion and demotion. Mercedes do nothing for young drivers.

    1. Dave (@davewillisporter)
      11th December 2020, 8:56

      @deanfranklin Simple answer to a rather laboured point. Ethics. Toto honours contracts. Ethics. Something most businesses have forgotten about.
      (Look back to Ocon in 2017 when Stroll pushed him out of the team for his son. Toto made a deal with Renault. Renault went back on the deal. Was Toto happy? Hell no.)
      So Redbull. One name. Daniel Ricciardo. They had a competitive second driver and they chose to idolise Max and alienate Daniel. He walked as a result of internal politics and that is just a fact. The minute Baku debrief was over he made a choice to look elsewhere.
      People criticise Redbull for a reason! They’re a driver meat grinder.

      1. Verstappen dominated Ricciardo in the end. Had a significant raw pace advantage over him in the end.

        Mercedes will honour Bottas’s contract by paying him out. They are under no obligation to let him drive one of their cars.

        1. Dave (@davewillisporter)
          11th December 2020, 10:13

          @deanfranklin For someone who doesn’t seem to have a firm grip on reality you are remarkably confident! “In the end” doesn’t even begin to tell the story. After winning for Redbull in China, Daniel is blamed by the team for a crash that for the entire Baku race leading up to the incident looked to any observer to be an inevitability given Max’s unbridled aggression defending against a faster Daniel. This is race 4 of the season! They lost Daniel then. Add to that another 6 DNFs in the following races and you get a picture not portrayed by stats but by understanding the situation. I like both Max and Daniel. Horner and Marco screwed up and the team is still suffering.
          On Bottas. I wonder when Mercedes announce their 2021 drivers, will you pause and consider whether you should be so confident in your beliefs going forward?
          (I’ll give one proviso. If Valtteri has an absolute shocker of a race this weekend it may, just may happen but very unlikely. Toto is a man of honour.)

        2. Dave (@davewillisporter)
          12th December 2020, 23:47

          @Deanfranklin Toto this weekend.(Crash.net)
          “He’s going to be in our car, I am hereby confirming it,” Wolff said. “We have a contract with Valtteri and he is going to race next year. You need to kick me quite hard in a sensitive zone for me to ever lose my loyalty”
          Spend more time listening to long for interviews and understanding characters and you might get it right one day.

  31. I don’t agree that Lewis should sit this last race out.
    Lewis vs George would be great to watch.

  32. It just doesn’t seem right that George didn’t get to stand on the podium, but he didn’t. I suppose if there was going to be a weekend when Mercedes let Lewis down it just happened to be on the weekend when his replacement was driving his car. Nevertheless, one is still left with the impression George was let down by the team.

  33. Dave (@davewillisporter)
    11th December 2020, 9:46

    I am a massive Lewis fan from GP2 2006 and well, I am conflicted! I want to see him finish the season taking the checkered flag in P1 but I also wanted to see George take a checkered flag in P1!
    Gutted for George last week. I think he broke Valtteri! That’s something Lewis normally does! Great effort.
    Anyone complaining about how 2021 is boring, hold your breath. Lewis and George as teammates in 2022 will be worth the wait!
    A comment on Mercedes as a team. Last driver to leave to join another team? Jenson Button, and not because of the team but because he saw that they weren’t developing the 2010 car and Jenson didn’t care about another WDC, he just wanted the opportunity to win (from his book.)
    Redbull? Last driver to leave without a bitter taste in their mouth? Coulthard!
    Webber retired miffed, Seb left disillusioned, Kvyat dumped mid season, Daniel left feeling unwanted, Gasly dumped mid season. Albon? Who knows!
    Is it any wonder that Mercedes are in the happy position of having to make a choice at the end of 2021 between a solid P2 and race win capable driver in Bottas or a highly competitive P1 title fight capable partner and heir apparent to Lewis in George while Redbull are scratching their heads to get anyone good enough to finish one place behind Max?
    Teams matter. Mercedes have it figured out. Horner and Marko need a lesson or two.

    1. Dave (@davewillisporter)
      11th December 2020, 9:48

      Here’s hoping they get it right with Tsunoda. Would be a travesty and a tragedy id they messed it up with him too!

Comments are closed.