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George Russell will test for Mercedes at the Hungaroring tomorrow as part of Pirelli’s preparations for Formula 1’s switch to 18-inch tyres.
Russell’s appearance in a Mercedes F1 cockpit is ideally timed for 2022 driver market speculation.
Mercedes has indicated it will decide between Russell and Valtteri Bottas as Lewis Hamilton’s 2022 team-mate during the summer break, and Russell goes into the test fresh from scoring his first points for Williams.
Conversely Bottas had another poor weekend at the Hungarian Grand Prix, triggering the first-corner chaos and eliminating himself in the process, with the added blow of a five-place grid penalty for the next race in Belgium.
The test will not be Russell’s first Mercedes appearance at the Hungaroring, as the track was the scene of his maiden F1 test for the team in summer 2017. He ran there again in the equivalent test the following year and set an unofficial track record time on hypersoft tyres.
All 10 F1 teams are participating in Pirelli’s 2022 tyre test programme, with the running happening in strictly controlled conditions and with limited data made available.
McLaren and Ferrari are also taking part in Pirelli’s 18-inch tests this week, with Lando Norris running on Tuesday and Daniel Ricciardo on Wednesday. Ferrari has not yet revealed which driver will conduct its test on Tuesday.
