At 2am on Tuesday, Wolff called Russell to tell him he wanted him in the car. Wolff told Russell that the team’s expectations were that he would be in the top four or five places, and that lap times would be tight because of the short lap. “It was important to say what our expectations were,” Wolff said. “Valtteri has been taking loads of lap time out of me [there],” Russell said. The team know Russell well, and vice versa, but Wolff said: “What is most impressive is the sheer driving. Russell himself said: “Guys like Lewis make the difference when the pressure is on in the key moments.

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