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LIVE: FP2 ahead of the Sakhir Grand Prix - Can Russell match teammate Bottas?
The Sakhir Grand Prix weekend brings some surprises. Not only is the layout of the circuit different, but Lewis Hamilton and Romain Grosjean will be absent from the grid this weekend. Jack Aitken comes in at Williams to replace George Russell who will be a Mercedes driver this weekend. In the second free practice session, we will start to see how things are with these changes. Follow all the action live here with GPblog's live blog.
FP2 Liveblog
The Sakhir Grand Prix is the second race on the track in Bahrain this season. But where the same layout was chosen at Silverstone and the Red Bull Ring, the drivers will need to familiarise themselves with a new layout. In this race, the drivers will be using the outer loop. Since this has never been used for Formula 1 before, the drivers must make optimal use of the second free practice.
Track guide
George Russell in the Mercedes
On Monday, Lewis Hamilton tested positive for COVID-19. The 2020 World Champion is therefore forced to sit on the sidelines in quarantine. It's unsure whether the Brit will make a recovery in time for the final race of the season next weekend. In the meantime, George Russell moves up to the Mercedes team and will be replacing his fellow countryman. Russell will partner up with Valtteri Bottas.
As a result, this leaves Russell's seat at Williams available for 25-year-old Jack Aitken. He will team up with Nicholas Latifi in Bahrain this weekend.
And Romain Grosjean will not be racing after sustaining second-degree burns to his hands in his crash on lap one of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Pietro Fittipaldi will be replacing Grosjean for the race this weekend. Fittipaldi, the grandson of two-time F1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, makes his Formula 1 debut.