A week is a long time in Formula 1

[Forward to a friend](   This time seven days ago, we were all being wowed by George Russell as he adapted to driving Lewis Hamilton’s world championship-winning Mercedes in fine style. A week on, Lewis is back in his Merc, and George is back to making up the numbers again at the rear of the field at Williams. Those 2.5 seconds he’s dropped from the pace of Valtteri Bottas must feel like a lifetime! But talent doesn’t always get rewarded in F1, as highlighted by Sakhir GP winner Sergio Perez being evicted from his spot on the 2021 grid. On a day when Fernando Alonso reminded everyone what Formula 1 cars should sound like after demo-ing his 2005 title winner, you wonder how much of F1’s soul it can afford to keep giving away…   Charles Bradley, Global Editor in Chief  Motorsport.com      E D I T O R ' S C H O I C E [Hamilton: Abu Dhabi return like "first day back to school"](  Lewis Hamilton says his return to Formula 1 action at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix felt like the "first day back to school."   A L E X  K A L I N A U C K A S [Abu Dhabi GP: Bottas tops FP2 from Hamilton]( Valtteri Bottas put Mercedes on top in FP2 at Formula 1's 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which was disrupted by a red flag when Kimi Raikkonen's Alfa Romeo caught fire.    L U K E  S M I T H [Mercedes explains Mazepin's absence from F1 test line-up]( Toto Wolff says that Nikita Mazepin's omission from Mercedes' Abu Dhabi Formula 1 test line-up has "nothing to do with his actions" this week.    L U K E  S M I T H [Haas unable to give Grosjean farewell Formula 1 test]( Gunther Steiner says Haas cannot give Romain Grosjean a farewell Formula 1 test as it does not have any old cars available, but hopes Ferrari could accommodate a run-out.    A D A M  C O O P E R [Renault: Alonso Abu Dhabi test is a "human thing"]( Renault Formula 1 boss Cyril Abiteboul says the team's push for Fernando Alonso to test in Abu Dhabi was "a human thing" as the Spaniard builds up to his return in 2021.      FOLLOW US:   Received this email from a friend? Sign up to receive the INSIDER Newsletter from Motorsport.com which includes the latest news and inside views, direct from the experts. [Subscribe](                                Copyright © 2020 Motorsport.com, All rights reserved. This email was sent to {EMAIL} by Motorsport.com. Our Mailing Address is:Motorsport.com5972 N.E. 4th Ave. Miami, FL 33137, United States Want to change how you recieve these emails? [Manage Preferences]( [Unsubscribe](   Part of [Motorsport Network](