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George Russell experienced a dramatic turn of events at his home race during the British Grand Prix, where early promise ended in disappointment, overshadowed by his teammate Lewis Hamilton’s historic victory.
George Russell’s home race at the British Grand Prix ended in disappointment. After a promising start, he led from pole position.
What happened to Russell?
The Mercedes driver launched well from P1 and led his teammate Lewis Hamilton during the initial phase of the race. However, as the race progressed, Hamilton overtook Russell on Lap 18, with the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri swiftly passing them both.
The situation deteriorated further for Russell when rain began to fall. As the front-runners switched to intermediate tyres, Russell lost a place to Max Verstappen and dropped to fourth.
Congrats Lewis, you deserve it ?
Gutted to retire so early and a tough pill to swallow at our home race, but another win for the team shows the progress we're making. We'll keep getting stronger ? pic.twitter.com/TOf3dFpQkC
— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) July 7, 2024
The real blow came on Lap 34 when Russell was forced to retire due to a suspected water system issue. Reflecting on the premature end to his race, a downbeat Russell commented, according to f1.com:
“Yeah, really disappointed. It was… Everything was under control at the beginning in the dry, then very challenging conditions in the damp. I started losing power and next thing I had to retire the car, so yeah, really disappointing.”
Despite the heartbreak, the weekend showcased Mercedes’ potential, with Russell and Hamilton locking out the front row in qualifying. Russell’s misfortune contrasted sharply with Hamilton’s performance, as he went on to win the British Grand Prix, marking his record-breaking ninth victory at Silverstone just a week after Russell’s triumph in Austria.
What caused the DNF?
During the team’s post-race debrief, Mercedes’ trackside engineering director, Andrew Shovlin, shed light on Russell’s DNF. He explained, according to planetf1.com:
“Unfortunately, we knew that we had an issue relatively early in the race, so we were tracking this from the first stint.
“We didn’t know that it was going to be terminal, but it’s all linked to a leak that was in the water system that was causing the pressure to start to drift, and ultimately when we stopped the car, it was to protect the power unit. So we knew that we were never going to finish the race.”
Shovlin emphasised that the decision to retire the car was a preventive measure to avoid a potential power unit failure and subsequent penalties later in the season. He speculated that if Russell had managed to continue, there would have been a chance for a strong finish.
“With a race like that, with the changing conditions, it’s quite hard to say this is where we would have finished,” Shovlin noted. “If it had been a dry race start to finish, looking at how George got off the line, how he was able to build a gap, I think he would have had a pretty straightforward afternoon.”
Bouncing back in Budapest
Russell himself tried to remain optimistic about the future despite the setback.
“I mean, for sure we’ll take the positives,” he said. “The car’s fast and we’ll have more opportunities, but retiring from any race is disappointing, let alone your home race. We definitely had a shot of at least a podium.”
In the end, while Russell’s race ended in frustration, the spotlight was on Hamilton, who delivered a masterclass to claim victory, adding another chapter to his career.
Feature Image Credit: Mercedes Benz Media