Despite suffering a heartbreaking DNF, George Russell hailed Mercedes’ “incredible” turnaround to secure back-to-back Formula 1 Grand Prix victories thanks to Lewis Hamilton’s Silverstone triumph.
Russell lined up on pole position on Sunday with Hamilton alongside him on the front row and both Mercedes Formula 1 machines led comfortably in the opening sting of Sunday’s Silverstone spectacle.
When rain interfered the two Mercs lost ground to McLaren’s duo, with Russell also falling behind Hamilton.
Still, the Austrian GP winner was in contention for victory until a heartbreaking DNF on Lap 34.
“I’m absolutely gutted,” Russell said of his personal setback. “About 10 laps before I had to retire, I could see temperature alarms on my steering wheel. We had a water system issue we were battling and unfortunately, it won out.”
However, there were still reasons for Russell to be positive.
Mercedes had won just one GP in the current rule cycle, Sao Paulo 2022, before Russell returned to winning ways at the Red Bull Ring and Hamilton’s historic ninth win at Silverstone on Sunday cemented the Brackley-based team’s turnaround from the Formula 1 doldrums to genuine contenders.
“I mean it’s incredible,” Russell said.
“We had the car in normal driving circumstances to be 1-2.
“We’re clearly back and I think we’ll be fighting for race wins more often now.”
Concerning his DNF once again, Russell said “within myself and the car I’m feeling good but obviously this is a real blow, retiring from any race let alone your home Grand Prix when you had the car to win but we’ll have another go.”
Silverstone confirmed that Mercedes is back in contention for victories not just by luck, but on pure pace.
Russell argued that his lucky break in Austria, where victory fell to him after Lando Norris and Max Verstappen collided, was payback for missing out on the win at the Canadian GP where the Mercedes Formula 1 challenger was arguably the class of the field.
The British GP followed up on the Montreal promise and that was acknowledged by Team Principal Toto Wolff, who said “Last week’s “[The Austria] win was fortuitous.
“[Sunday], we were quick in almost all conditions. We were running first and second for a long time and, although the McLarens were quick when the rain fell, we were able to get back ahead of them.
“It is a win on merit, and it shows the grit of this team.”
The next stop for Formula 1 is the Hungaroring, where Mercedes has snatched pole for the last two years under this rule cycle.
With the W15 now a race-winning machine, can Russell and Hamilton deliver a third victory on the bounce?
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