George Russell (Mercedes) stunned: P2 at Silverstone – a gift from Ferrari!

In a rather strange turn of events, George Russell finished second at his home Grand Prix at Silverstone, behind winner Charles Leclerc. Not only was Russell the slower of the two Mercedes drivers, but he also suffered a puncture at one stage and had to make an unscheduled pit stop.

But then, in this crazy race, bad luck turned into good luck: Max Verstappen flew off the track, triggering a safety car period; Ferrari brought both drivers in for fresh tyres, but Russell stayed out.

More luck for Russell: race control kept the safety car on the track until the end of the race, meaning Hamilton had no further chance to mount a challenge against Russell.

Kimi Antonelli’s misfortune (a broken aerodynamic component on his left front wheel) also allowed Russell to move up the order. Russell should actually have finished fourth here, but now he stands on the podium at Silverstone for the first time in his GP career. His best result previously was fifth place in 2023.

After securing his 29th podium finish in the premier class (the same number as Carlos Sainz), the Englishman reflected: “First of all, I’m over the moon to be on the podium at Silverstone for the first time. It was a really bizarre race – I had a puncture at the start but was then able to move up the field again.”

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“That safety car period at the end was an opportunity for us, and when, to our amazement, Ferrari brought both cars in, we decided I’d stay out. That was the key to P2.”

“I’m sorry for the fans that the Grand Prix ended under yellow flags. But for me personally, it was obviously a good thing, because Lewis was behind me on the track with fresh soft tyres. It wouldn’t have been easy to keep him at bay. My tyres were cold, and he had the soft ones. But things turned out quite differently.”

“It was a very tricky weekend for me, with a happy ending. I don’t know why things went so wrong before the race. In qualifying I didn’t have full top speed, and in the race too, things didn’t go ideally in terms of pace.”