George Russell is “very surprised” with Ferrari’s pace as Lewis Hamilton stormed to a sensational Sprint race pole for the 2026 Formula 1 British Grand Prix.
Fortunes have flipped pretty quickly for Russell, and his former Mercedes team-mate Hamilton, at Silverstone, on Friday.
After a stellar drive to secure his second win of 2026, at Austria, last weekend, Mercedes driver was substantially off the pace during Sprint qualifying.
On the other hand, after struggling with overheating and balance issues with the SF-26 at the Red Bull Ring, Hamilton came back to secure a blistering pole for the Sprint race, on Saturday.
Russell, who was three-and-a-half tenths away from Hamilton, in fifth, after SQ3, said he was left “very surprised” by Ferrari’s turnaround in just one week.
“Very surprised, they’ve been on the back foot with the PU and energy management. Here, they look the best,” he said.
“That’s been a real surprise. We’ve always known they’ve had a great chassis. Some things aren’t quite making sense.
“If I were to predict it, I would have said Ferrari to be quick last week and us to be quick this week. Obviously, Kimi did a great job but Ferrari had the upper hand.”
George Russell concedes to be “on the back foot” for F1 British GP
Russell has struggled to be competitive compared to his team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, so far in 2026.
The Briton conceded that for his home GP weekend, too, he knows he’s a step behind his team-mate for the remainder of the event.
“Story of the year to be honest, always on the back foot,” Russell added.
“Usually come Q3, we can make a step. Today, not quite the case.
“It was very close to P3 but still very much off the pace of Lewis and Kimi. I need to try and understand why that is, it’s a bit strange.”
Mercedes have opted to not bring any upgrades for the British GP. Will that turn out to be the decisive factor to hand Ferrari the upper hand for the rest of the weekend? Only time will tell.
READ MORE – George Russell makes candid Austrian GP qualifying controversy confession
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