David Croft and Martin Brundle stunned by ‘cracking’ 26-year-old driver in Bahrain GP

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David Croft and Martin Brundle were both left very impressed by Mercedes driver George Russell during the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Although he couldn’t convert his third-place start into a podium finish, the 26-year-old comfortably beat teammate Lewis Hamilton during the opening race of the 2024 season.

Talking about the race for Sky Sports F1, the two commentators really enjoyed how the Brit started the Grand Prix.

Croft and Brundle enjoyed Russell’s overtake in Bahrain GP

Despite hours of pre-season testing and three practice sessions in the Bahraini desert, there was still plenty of intrigue as to who would be the quickest driver on the grid at the start of the year.

Unsurprisingly, Red Bull came away from the race with a one-two as Max Verstappen once again dominated from start to finish.

Ferrari looked like their closest challengers, but George Russell’s fantastic lap in qualifying meant he split Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

Brundle and Croft loved Russell’s driving at the start of the race as he overtook the Monegasque driver to move into second place.

However, the Mercedes had a couple of issues with their battery and he admitted it was a ‘difficult’ day in the end as he crossed the line in fifth.

The cooling systems within the car were also a problem but at least Mercedes know what they need to fix before heading to Saudi Arabia.

Mercedes with work to do to catch Ferrari and Red Bull

In the opening laps, Russell showed his racing acumen with David Croft saying: “Here, around the outside of Charles Leclerc, goes George Russell, did Leclerc make a mistake? Russell is up to second place, mighty driving there from George Russell.”

Brundle added: “Cracking move in turn four from George Russell and immediately [Sergio] Perez is seizing his chance right on the gearbox of the Ferrari.”

Croft concluded: “The Ferrari is in a little bit of bother here, he’s lost out in the top two places and has now got Perez to contend with and there’s a lock-up from Charles Leclerc going into turn 10.”

Charles Leclerc had issues of his own in Bahrain, but Russell deserves the credit given to him by Croft and Brundle.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t hold onto a place on the podium and they only have a few days before the next race of the season.

The track in Jeddah is very different to that in Sakhir and so plenty could change at the next Grand Prix.

Russell will certainly hope so, although it’s hard to see the gap to Red Bull closing enough to make the race for victories interesting any time soon.