‘P3 is where I should have finished’ – Disappointed Russell admits Silverstone Sprint result ‘not ideal’

George Russell felt that his end result in the Sprint at the British Grand Prix was “not ideal”, with the Briton stating that P3 – rather than P4 – is “probably where I should have finished”.

Russell started the event from fifth place on the grid, having struggled to match the pace of Mercedes team mate Kimi Antonelli – who started from P2 – during Friday’s Sprint Qualifying.

The 28-year-old made a good launch when Saturday’s event got underway and overtook both McLarens in the early stages, moving himself up to third. However, he later slipped backwards when Lando Norris retook P3 before Red Bull’s Max Verstappen also moved ahead to P4.

As the 100km dash progressed, Russell chased down Verstappen and got past the Dutchman to return to fourth – and while he tried to catch Norris for third towards the end, the Silver Arrows driver crossed the line just under one second away at the line.

Asked after the Sprint if he was disappointed at how it all unfolded – particularly given that he was running in P3 on the first lap – Russell responded: “Yeah, Lap 1 was great and I did two great overtakes in two corners, then I got a bit left vulnerable.

“On the next straights I got overtaken by the McLarens, so I need to understand how I managed to pull the moves off but then how I lost positions again anyway.

“P3 is probably where I should have finished – I finished in P4, one point less. Not ideal, but main focus is on Quali now.”

Mercedes Deputy Team Principal Bradley Lord spoke positively about Russell’s progression, however, when reflecting back on the Sprint while chatting to F1 TV.

“It’s always better to finish higher up than you started – he went from P5 to P4,” said Lord. “It looked like he had the pace to catch Lando as well – he was closing in on him pretty quick at the end, so that suggests that the deg is good on both cars which is good for tomorrow.

“But it’s also, when you get stuck in battles at the start of the race, with these rules – and on these circuits where the energy management is so difficult – and it goes back and forth and you find yourself leapfrogged by three cars somehow, and then you work your way back.

“He stayed calm with that as well and just worked at it methodically, so clearly was the quicker of the cars. Could’ve got Lando, but hopefully we can start from a better place tomorrow and then go forward from there.”