Lewis Hamilton returning to his car for 2020's F1 finale after returning negative Covid-19 tests; George Russell completed media duties in Hamilton's place on Thursday but will return to his usual Williams seat this weekend
Thursday 10 December 2020 18:27, UK
George Russell is returning to his usual Williams seat for the Abu Dhabi GP after Lewis Hamilton was cleared to race for Mercedes this weekend.
Mercedes said Hamilton, following his period of isolation in Bahrain, tested negative for Covid-19 on Wednesday and then again on his arrival at Yas Marina on Thursday, meaning the world champion will be back in his W11 for the remainder of the weekend.
Russell therefore will not have a second outing in Hamilton's seat for Mercedes - where he starred and nearly won in Bahrain last week - and will instead drive for Williams in the F1 2020 finale.
He tweeted after the news was confirmed: "Glad to see Lewis Hamilton back and fighting fit. Had a blast with Mercedes but now I'm buzzing to put everything I've learned into action with my team.
"Gonna give it everything this weekend - just as they do for me week in, week out."
Jack Aitken, who deputised for Russell at Sakhir, will not be in action for Williams.
Russell, who appeared in Mercedes team kit for Thursday's media day and completed press conference duties alongside Valtteri Bottas, said he was preparing for the Abu Dhabi GP as if he will drive again for the Silver Arrows, but that he was also ready to return to Williams if required.
Although Russell will not get a second immediate chance to impress at the world champions this weekend, the 22-year-old firmly made a point over his potential last week in his first chance at F1's sharp end.
Driving the W11 car for the first time - a cockpit he barely fit into due to his 6ft2 frame - he qualified within 0.026s of Mercedes regular Bottas on pole and then led the nine-time race winner convincingly in Sunday's race before a rare pit-stop blunder by the world champions and then a cruel slow puncture dropped the Briton to ninth.
Russell, whose career has been managed by Mercedes since 2016, had already earned plaudits but not points during two seasons at the back of the field with Williams, and the former F2 champion admits showing what he could do at F1's sharp end was important for both him and those monitoring his progress.
"Obviously as a driver you always believe in yourself, you always have confidence in yourself. Being at Williams the past 18 months, not even being able to fight for points, deep down you think you're doing a good job but you never quite know until you get that chance to prove it," he said.
"I guess for me, having the opportunity for myself, for Mercedes, for everybody has really given me a confidence booster to say, you know what I can do this.
"When I return to Williams I'm going to go back with more confidence, believing even more in myself, and as a stronger driver and hopefully that will pay dividends, not just next year but years to come."
Russell's three-year deal at Williams expires at the end of next season, with the youngster clearly firmly putting himself in the frame for a full-time Mercedes seat in 2022.
