Lewis Hamilton says he is excited to watch Lando Norris and George Russell progress in Formula 1 but warns he’s not ready to step aside as the leading Brit just yet.
Both Norris and Russell advanced into F1 in 2019 after amassing impressive records in the junior formulas and were immediately on the pace in their rookie campaigns.
After three years spent with a Williams side that languished towards the rear of the field, Russell was promoted to Mercedes alongside Hamilton last year and recorded both his maiden pole position and race win.
Meanwhile, Norris has remained with the McLaren team he graduated into the top tier with, scoring five podiums and a solitary pole position, alongside establishing himself as a valuable team leader for the Woking squad.
Ahead of the British Grand Prix this weekend, Hamilton has lavished praise on his fellow British competitors and admits he is excited to track the young pair’s respective journeys.
“It’s not passing the baton, but knowing we have other great British drivers that will prolong the success of the Brits moving forward,” Hamilton acknowledged.
“Our fanbase will always have some good drivers because we generally develop good drivers in the UK.
“George and Lando are both incredibly talented and have a bright future in front of them.
“It is crazy to think that they are as young as they are. Lando is 23 but [it] feels like he has been here for ages, so I am excited to watch their journey and where they get to.”
No driver has enjoyed more success at their home race or the British GP in F1 history than Hamilton, who has accrued eight victories at the iconic Silverstone circuit.
Despite 2022 representing a largely arduous season for the Mercedes outfit, the seven-time World Champion still managed to end last year’s action-packed race third to claim a record-breaking 13th podium at the Northamptonshire venue.
However, Mercedes struggled last time out at the Red Bull Ring, with Hamilton out-qualified and overtaken on track by Norris in a revitalised McLaren package.
The British squad is set to introduce further updates this weekend to its MCL60 and Norris, who classified fourth in Austria, is adamant McLaren can continue to get better.
Asked whether he was confident of a strong result at Silverstone, Norris responded: “100%, the car’s quicker, it’s quicker everywhere, it’s just difficult to drive still.
“If we had a nicer car to drive, one a bit easier, bigger working range to work in, I think we can take another big step forward, especially in consistency and race pace and so on. And even on one lap pace.
“Yeah, plenty of things to work on, more things coming next weekend, I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, this has always been our best race of the whole year so I’ll make sure I’ll let the team know that just to keep our heads down for next weekend.”
Although Hamilton has tasted plenty of success on home soil since his debut in 2007, both Norris and Russell are yet to stand on the podium at the British GP.
Norris’ best result came in 2021 when he finished fourth, while Russell, who retired on the first lap last year, has failed to score a single point in his five visits to Silverstone.
The Mercedes driver is aiming to bounce back from a tough run of form that has witnessed him suffer a Q2 exit in two of the past three rounds.
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