COVID-19 Positive Lewis Hamilton To Be Replaced By 22-Year-Old Williams Driver, Confirms Mercedes Boss

Lewis Hamilton, who tested positive for coronavirus, was replaced by Williams driver George Russell ahead of Sakhir Grand Prix on Tuesday. After winning the Bahrain GP, Hamilton woke up with mild symptoms Monday. On being tested, he was positive and returned with another positive at a retest.

The 22-year-old Russell will become only the fifth driver to drive for Mercedes since 2010 and the third Brit to represent Mercedes-Benz in F1 after Sir Stirling Moss and Hamilton.

Mercedes has been backing Russell’s career since 2017 when he joined their Junior Programme. He won the GP3 Series championship as a rookie, before repeating the feat in Formula 2 in 2018. The young F1 racer is currently on a three-year loan at Williams, where he made his F1 debut last season.

"Nobody can replace this guy, but I'll give my all for the team in his absence from the moment I step in the car. Get well soon Lewis," wrote Russell in a social media post.

A 25-year-old British-Korean driver, Jack Aitken, will race in Russell's place at Williams for his F1 debut, as per an official release on Mercedes’ website.

In the same release, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff thanked Williams for their cooperation.

"First and foremost, I wish to thank our loyal partners at Williams for their collaboration and open-mindedness in making it possible for George to race for Mercedes this weekend. The conversations with the team at Williams were positive and pragmatic, and those were the key factors in reaching an agreement," Team Principal and CEO Wolff said.

Russell, who is yet to score points in F1, will partner Valtteri Bottas this week after racing at the bottom of the championship all this while.

"Firstly, I want to say a huge thank you to everybody at Williams for giving me this opportunity. I might be wearing a different race suit this weekend, but I'm a Williams driver and I'll be cheering my team on every step of the way. I see this as a great chance to learn from the best outfit on the grid right now and to come back as an improved driver, with even more energy and experience to help push Williams further up the grid. A big thank you also to Mercedes for putting their faith in me," Russell told F1’s official website.

It is also understood that if the seven-time F1 championship Hamilton does not recover in time, Russell could also race for Mercedes for the final race of the 2020 season in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 13.