Mercedes has assigned George Russell to its team for Pirelli's 18-inch 2022 tyre test at the Hungaroring on Tuesday that will also include cars from Ferrari and McLaren.
Russell's presence with the Brackley squad isn't a surprise as both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have head off for their summer break, and the Williams driver is also expected to replace the Finn at Mercedes next season with a formal announcement anticipated around the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa at the end of the month.
But Russell won't be the only driver on track in Budapest on Tuesday with the Briton joined by McLaren's Lando Norris, either Charles Leclerc or Carlos Sainz for Ferrari and reportedly Sauber junior and F2 charger Theo Pourchaire who will be running with Alfa Romeo and making his F1 debut.
Russell's last outing with Mercedes was last year in Sakhir when the 23-year-old subbed for Lewis Hamilton and almost won the penultimate round of the 2020 F1 world championship. But Hungary also holds special memories for the Briton who tested for the very first time with Mercedes at the venue back in 2017.
The Williams driver also heads into the test off the back of his first points-scoring performance with the Grove-based outfit, with teammate Nicholas Latifi and himself finishing P8 and P9 respectively, although both drivers could move up a position if the FIA confirms the disqualification from the Hungarian Grand Prix of Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel for a fuel sample infringement.
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