George Russell questions Lewis Hamilton's Silverstone pace at British Grand Prix

Kimi Antonelli, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton looking serious at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix — Photo: © IMAGO

British Grand Prix

George Russell questions Lewis Hamilton's Silverstone pace at British Grand Prix

Ferrari look to have returned to form this weekend

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 3 July 2026 22:45

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Mercedes F1 driver George Russell stated that Ferrari's pace 'doesn't quite make sense' after the Maranello outfit returned to form at the British Grand Prix.

F1 is at Silverstone this weekend for the ninth round of the 2026 season, and British drivers Hamilton and Russell head there in the midst of a championship battle.

Russell is in second in the standings, 40 points behind his team-mate Kimi Antonelli, while Hamilton is a further six points back in third.

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Hamilton is going for a staggering 10th British GP victory this weekend, while Russell is looking for a maiden win at his home race. Either of those scenarios would catapult the driver in question right into the mix for the championship alongside Antonelli.

Surprisingly, Ferrari looked like the team to beat in the early stages of the British GP weekend, despite their poor form at the Austrian GP last time out. Hamilton qualified on pole for the sprint race during sprint qualifying on Friday, while Russell was all the way down in fifth.

Following Friday's competitive session, Russell lamented his poor performance compared to team-mate Antonelli once again, while also questioning Ferrari's pace at the notoriously high-speed circuit.

Ferrari are known to have a dominant chassis in 2026, but their power unit problems have often left them lagging behind Mercedes, and in Austria they were struggling to keep up with McLaren and Red Bull too.

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Mercedes caught out by Ferrari's pace

"It’s kind of the story of the year, to be honest," Russell said after sprint qualifying. "Always on the back foot.

"Usually, come Q3, I can generally make a step. Today, that was not quite the case. It was very close to P3, but still very much off the pace of Lewis and Kimi, so I need to try and understand why that is. It’s a bit strange.

"It’s feeling quite good out there, to be honest. It’s not feeling too bad. We were all expecting it to feel a bit worse, just in terms of driving these cars here, but it actually felt quite ok and the high-speed felt fast.

"But relative lap time just not really there, so need to understand for tomorrow, the more important day.

"I’m very surprised [by Ferrari]. They’ve been on the back foot with the power unit and energy management, and here they look the best at the moment, so that’s been a real surprise.

"We’ve always know they have a great chassis, but I think some things aren’t quite making sense.

"If I were to have predicted, I would have said Ferrari quick last week and us to be quick this week. Obviously, Kimi did a great job but Ferrari have had the upper hand all day."

F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Mercedes George Russell British Grand Prix