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Russell, 22, was drafted in as a late
replacement for Lewis Hamilton at Sunday's Sakhir Grand Prix
when the seven-times champion tested positive for COVID-19, but
at times it looked like the older Briton was at the wheel.
Apart from qualifying, when Bottas took pole by a whisker,
Russell had the measure of the Finn and could have won but for a
team error and misfortune.
"We learned that George Russell is somebody to count on in the
future," Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said. "He has all the
potential and all the ingredients that a future star needs."
Russell, the 2018 Formula Two champion, has a long-term contract
with Mercedes and has been learning the ropes at struggling
Williams. The future looks bright for him.
Less so for Bottas, who after being regularly beaten by one
British driver, now has to worry about another taking his seat
when his contract runs out at the end of 2021.
"If you don’t know things, I might have looked like a...fool you
know," said the Finn of an afternoon that saw him finish eighth
and one place ahead of Russell.
"It will be very easy for people to say that a new guy comes in
and beats the guy who’s been in the team for a few years."
"But the people who know, they know how is the performance and
how the end result could have been," said Bottas, who has been
at Mercedes since 2017.
Bottas has had plenty of misfortune -- former racer Martin
Brundle quipped on Sunday that if the Finn did not have bad luck
he'd have no luck at all -- and has won only twice this year,
compared to Hamilton's 11.
Hamilton has yet to sign a contract extension but is expected to
do so, and in the not-so-distant future may find himself in an
all-British line-up.
"I can understand that it would be an interesting situation to
have them both in the team, and maybe a bit of a wild ride for
all of us,” said Wolff. "But maybe we’ll have them in the
future."
(Editing by Alan Baldwin and Bernadette Baum)
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