George Russell could be disqualified from Sakhir Grand Prix because of F1 rule

George Russell could be disqualified from the Sakhir Grand Prix because Valtteri Bottas’ tyres were incorrectly fixed to his car during a manic pit stop mix-up. The Mercedes star was leading the race when the horror mistake happened.

Russell stepped in for Lewis Hamilton in Bahrain because the seven-time world champion contracted coronavirus.

The 22-year-old impressed from second on the grid by overtaking team-mate Valtteri Bottas to lead for 60 laps.

However, catastrophe struck when Mercedes attempted to double stack a pit stop under the virtual safety car.

Bottas’ tyres were put on Russell’s W11, which breaks a major F1 rule.

Under the ‘Control of tyres’ section of the rules and regulations, it states: “The use of tyres without appropriate identification maybe result in a grid position penalty or disqualification from the race.”

It is yet unclear if the race stewards will take any action against the Mercedes stand-in.

The Silver Arrows did quickly rectify mistake by bringing Russell back into the pits on the following lap to take Bottas’ tyres off.

Russell was on course for the victory but had to settle for 10th place after the disastrous error.

Toto Wolff struck an agreement with Williams to allow Russell to race in a Championship-winning car.

But the youngster was gutted with his finish, which gifted Racing Point’s Sergio Perez the first win of his career.

“I can’t really put it into words to be honest. Jumping out of the car… it wasn’t a nice feeling,” Russell said.

“I’ve had races where I’ve had victories taken away from me, but twice? I just couldn’t believe it. I gave it everything I had.