‘Gentleman’ George Russell also drives in Verstappen’s shadow at Silverstone

It had only been a vain hope that George Russell (25) could shine in front of his home crowd at Silverstone. Behind the once again unapproachable winner Max Verstappen (Red Bull) there was one Battle of Britain, but it was decided in favor by Lando Norris (McLaren) at the expense of Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes). Russell had to settle for fifth place. “I was amazed at how fast the McLaren cars were. We hadn’t seen that for a long time,” says Russell an hour after the race in the mixed zone of the British circuit. “It’s up to us to close that gap.”

Russell is in his second season as a Mercedes driver, but little has come of the intention to participate in the battle for the world title. Although he won his first victory in São Paulo, Brazil, last season, he saw with regret how all victories went to the Red Bull Racing team in the past ten races. Russell is sixth in the World Cup standings with 82 points after Silverstone. The gap with Verstappen has not even grown to 172 points halfway through the season.

Russell will have to focus fully on the mutual battle with his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who is fourth with 121 points. A battle between two Britons in the German Mercedes. Also jokingly by the racing fans at Silverstone Britcedes named. “It’s a shame that Verstappen is participating,” says Mrs Hough from Warrington, England. “Have different we had a much better chance with Russell, Hamilton and Norris.” She came to the track with her husband and their two children for the English drivers. Just like the vast majority of the 160,000 spectators who turned out for Sunday’s race.

Since the first Grand Prix on May 13, 1950, the same ritual has taken place every year on the site of the former army airfield. Hundreds of thousands of racing fans come to the track with their cars in the middle of nowhere between Birmingham and London. The race track is almost impossible to reach by public transport.

In the Silverstone area, Formula 1 enthusiasts sleep for a week on improvised campsites on derelict grass fields. British flags flutter everywhere, and the beer flows freely from the early morning. You could call it the British form of carnival, with the national drivers as the prom princes.

Benjamin Dowling (31) from Chipping Norton has been a regular at Silverstone for ten years. A few hours before the race, he walks up and down restlessly with a British flag over his shoulders Lakeside. Dowling wears a fluorescent yellow cap with the Mercedes logo. It has autographs from Russell, Hamilton and Norris. “As a Brit I am very proud of them and I hope they are of us too,” says Dowling, who has met Russell about five times. He would prefer to describe the driver, succinctly and to the point, as „a gentleman and a future world champion”.

Email with CV

Russell is eleven years old when he visits Silverstone for the first time as a race fan. His great hero is Hamilton, who became world champion for the first time a year earlier, in 2008. The teenager from the town of King’s Lynn is himself a deserving karter, who quickly makes a name for himself as a great talent with one clear goal: Formula 1, based on his brother Benjy, who is ten years his senior. Russell is so convinced that in 2014 he sends an email with his CV to Toto Wolff, the team boss of Mercedes. The German is charmed by the young Briton.

Wolff follows Russell’s progress with great interest. Russell is part of a talented generation of young European talents, including Max Verstappen, Esteban Ocon, Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon. Russell records his first victory in Formula 4 at Silverstone and confirms his talent by winning the championship in 2014. According to experts, Russell is ahead of his age and has control over cars in different classes like almost no other.

However, despair sets in for Russell when the financial resources are lacking to take the next steps. The money his father Steve has raised from the sale of a peas and beans shop is not enough to force a place in Formula 1. But Mercedes comes to the rescue and offers him a place in the talent team. Russell will make his debut in Formula 1 with Williams in 2019. And a year later he drives a race in a Mercedes for the first time as a substitute for Hamilton. And in 2022 he will be given a permanent place as the successor to the Finn Valtteri Bottas.

Emotional human

With his 1.85 meters, Russell is a striking appearance in Formula 1. Both on and off the track, he is known as a driven, sporty driver. He always speaks with two words and is an ambassador for the sport. And Russell is an emotional person, as the Netflix series shows Drive to Survive in which he can be seen in tears several times. It endears him to the public.

Russell walks around confidently in the run-up to the race at Silverstone. During a short meeting with the international media, he gives measured answers on Thursday. When asked whether the 24-race calendar won’t be too full next year, Russell gives a diplomatic answer and sneer at Verstappen, who thinks it’s all too much: “As a Formula 1 driver, I like to do what I love . I often hear Verstappen complain. And speculating about quitting. Those are games. I hope he keeps racing as long as possible because I want to compete against the very best.”

Russell says he feels no pressure to win Silverstone’s home race. He says that in the knowledge that Verstappen with his RB19 is simply too good for everyone at the moment. “I do not worry. When I look at Fernando Alanso and Lewis Hamilton, I see drivers who are still performing at an older age. Maybe I can go on for another fifteen or sixteen years. The chance for my moment of glory will come.”

The frenzied British fans hope that moment has already come this Sunday. Although at the start their eyes are mainly on Norris, who starts from second place. There is a loud cheer around the track as Norris immediately takes the lead. But that turns out to be short-lived. Verstappen restores hegemony and the British battle behind him, in perhaps the most boring race of the year, for the remaining podium places.