“Obviously, I’m disappointed”- Stoffle Vandoorne on his social media said that not being picked hurt him, though happy for George Russell.
Stoffle Vandoorne is the reserve driver with Mercedes and has a superlicense to run an F1 car on the track. However, the Silver Arrows snubbed him and preferred their young driver and currently employed with Williams George Russell to replace Lewis Hamilton, who is suffering fro COVID-19.
Reflecting on the decision made by Mercedes, Vandoorne said on his social media account that he is obviously disheartened by the decision made by the team, but at the same time feel happy about his selection.
“Hi Guys, thought you’d want an update after the news, in the last few days. Firstly, I want to wish @lewishamilton a speedy recovery and hopefully, he’ll be back in the car asap! Nobody can really replace him!”⠀
“Obviously, I’m disappointed not to get the chance to drive for @mercedesamgf1 this weekend. After having spent the year travelling to all F1 races and dedicating so much time, physical training, commitment to this programme… it hurts!”
“On the other hand, I respect the choice of putting @georgerussell63 in the car. He has been one of the standout drivers and he fully deserves this opportunity.” ⠀
“It’s moments like these that make my drive even bigger and I can assure you I’m going to continue giving 100%! Thank you so much, everyone, for all your supportive messages! It’s been great to see.”
View this post on Instagram
George Russell is the future
Though Vandoorne has his own resentments, it is clear that Russell is Mercedes’ future and the Silver Arrows would bank on any opportunity to grant him run time on the latest Mercedes’ machines.
He was even backed by Mercedes when his place at Williams and F1, in general, was in jeopardy, alas he was soon confirmed to resume with Williams in 2021.
Despite being a talented driver, Russell hasn’t scored even a single point in his last two seasons in F1. But now, about to drive the greatest F1 car of all time, we can certainly expect much more from him.
