George Russell confirms major change ahead of British GP to stop terrible run
George Russell wants to be the latest home hero to shine at Silverstone – but is keen not to put too much importance on this weekend's British Grand Prix. The locals have been spoiled in recent years, with Lewis Hamilton breaking a 945-day dry run to win the 2024 race with Mercedes, while last year Lando Norris tasted sweet Silverstone success for the first time.
Off the back of Sunday's win in Austria, Russell looks well-placed to follow in their tyre marks on Sunday. But, as the Mercedes racer readily admits, Silverstone "has not been too kind" to him. He's never won his home race, or even stood on the podium. Last year a strategy howler got him off to an awful start and he limped home in 10th.
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Twelve months earlier, he qualified on pole ahead of Hamilton but a water system issue forced him to retire 33 laps in. This year, Russell is determined not to get overexcited about the prospect of winning his home race. He said: "I can't wait for the weekend, because it's the best race weekend of the year.
"Once the helmet is on for me, it's just another race. I'm not going to put any additional pressure on myself, and I'm not going to be too relaxed either. That's the mentality that I want and need to have. Silverstone has not been too kind to me in my F1 career. Perhaps I wasn't treating it enough like a normal weekend. It's so difficult to, because it's such an amazing weekend."
Norris, returning as the defending champion, will get an enormous reception this weekend – not least from his enormous sold-out 'Landostand'. But he knows back-to-back Silverstone successes are unlikely given McLaren's lack of pace. Team principal Andrea Stella is optimistic that the podium might be reachable, but conceded: "A victory will be difficult."
And Norris added: "The car is still behind the leaders in terms of performance, but that's something we know we need more time to improve. I'm excited for the home crowd. We're making progress, and if we tidy up a few things, we'll give ourselves a better shot next time."
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In the Ferrari, Hamilton also doesn't have much hope for another fairytale. After winning in Barcelona earlier this month, Sunday was something of a reality check for the seven-time world champion and his Scuderia. "I think the gap is very large. I'm not sure it can be closed in a single season," he said of Ferrari's deficit to Mercedes.
"We can make further progress this year, but that will come later. We face some challenging races before that happens. I love Silverstone, but there are a lot of straights, unfortunately. It won't be easy. It's a track where I usually do well, but the problem lies in the final straight sections. Hopefully, the car will be in a bit of a nicer place there."
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