Jack Aitken to make F1 debut at Sakhir Grand Prix
Dec 02, 2020
Manama [Bahrain], December 2 : Jack Aitken will be making his Formula 1 race debut this weekend as he was named as a replacement for George Russell at Williams for the upcoming Sakhir Grand Prix.
Aitken has replaced Russell as the latter will be driving for Mercedes after world champion Lewis Hamilton tested positive for COVID-19.
Hamilton's absence has set about a chain reaction leading to Mercedes asking Williams to borrow Russell, a Mercedes junior, to drive alongside Valtteri Bottas.
Williams then agreed, with the British team choosing to promote their reserve driver Aitken to line up next to Nicholas Latifi.
Aitken has the experience of the Williams team and their engineers, having embedded himself in the outfit this year as part of his role, and crucially has experience of the FW43 after driving in FP1 at this year's Styrian Grand Prix. The 25-year-old, a former Renault junior who finished second in the 2017 GP3 series, has dovetailed his Williams duties with a third campaign in Formula 2, this year scoring two podiums and eight other points finishes.
"I'm absolutely over the moon to have the opportunity to make my debut with Williams this coming weekend and I am extremely happy for George to have his chance too," said Aitken in an official Formula 1 release.
"I really mean it when I say I've felt very much at home here since I joined Williams earlier this year, so to get my chance to help the team try to achieve that elusive points finish is an extremely satisfying occasion, to say the least," he added.
