Mercedes fired up to bounce back in 2022: Russell
Briton George Russell said his new Mercedes team was heading into the 2022 Formula One season fired up to bounce back from Lewis Hamilton's controversial title defeat in Abu Dhabi.
The squad extended their streak of record constructors' title wins to eight last year but failed to make it a successive eighth title double after a controversial safety car call allowed Red Bull rival Max Verstappen to pass Hamilton on the last lap of the season-ending Abu Dhabi race to score his first championship triumph.
The loss was the dominant team's first championship defeat of the turbo-hybrid era that began in 2014. It denied them a clean sweep of titles in the final year under those rules, with 2022 ushering in a radical regulation overhaul.
"I think following the conclusion of last year, there’s so much motivation and fire within the whole factory to bounce back," said Russell in a pre-recorded interview released by Mercedes. "And that is incredible for me to see."
Russell, whose career has been supported by Mercedes, joins the Brackley-based squad after three years at power unit customer Williams where he had been placed to learn the ropes.
The 23-year-old put in a cameo as a stand-in for Hamilton, sidelined by Covid-19, at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, very nearly winning on his Mercedes debut.
"In a way it feels like returning home to people who I’ve known for such a long time," said Russell. "Because I’ve spent so much time with the team prior to joining Williams in Formula One as a junior driver, I feel like I know everybody so well already."
Russell is set to line up alongside seven-time champion Hamilton this season. Hamilton's future has been the subject of speculation but the 37-year-old Briton has been listed on the schedule for Mercedes's 2022 car launch on Feb 18.
The governing FIA has launched an investigation into events at the Abu Dhabi finale where race director Michael Masi altered the safety car procedure, moving only the lapped cars between race-leading Hamilton and second-placed Verstappen out of the way.
The outcome of the probe will be put before a meeting of the Formula One commission on Monday. Final decisions are expected to be announced at the World Motor Sport Council on March 18, the same day as the first practice session for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
下一篇:25 Years Later: A Brief Analysis of GPU Processing Efficiency
- ·NASA rover snaps photo of its most daunting challenge yet
- ·1小时预赔付,河源国寿财险支付“苏拉”首笔农险赔款
- ·广东农安技能竞赛,种植业方向他们最强!
- ·前三季度 建安轿车悬架销量同比增长171%
- ·CeeDee Lamb secures record
- ·1小时预赔付,河源国寿财险支付“苏拉”首笔农险赔款
- ·国家二级保护动物果子狸回归森林
- ·广东农安技能竞赛,种植业方向他们最强!
- ·Students get free entry at second Rawalpindi Test but what’s the catch?
- ·为灾后社会管理服务储备专业人才
- ·监管常态化 质量标准化
- ·直击第25届中国农加工投洽会,新会葵禾陈皮热度不减
- ·Microwave technique recovers 87% of batteries' lithium in 15 minutes
- ·全球首例 雌性大熊猫“张想”在雅放归大自然
- ·想买房? 看看这些小技巧
- ·为灾后社会管理服务储备专业人才