George Russell has revealed what went through his mind when he was informed of a slow puncture during the British Grand Prix.
Russell was battling Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton for a podium position when Mercedes instructed him to make an unscheduled pit stop due to a tyre issue.
The extra stop dropped him down the order and appeared to leave him resigned to losing further ground to championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
Russell has endured a difficult run of results in recent races, with a series of setbacks damaging his title challenge heading into the Silverstone weekend.
On what went through his head when the radio message came across, George Russell told the Silver Arrows Radio Show: “I didn’t even really react.
“We’ve had our fair share of bad luck this year, and when that slow puncture came, I was just overtaking Max for P3.
“And then I was like: 'here we go again'.”
However, Russell quickly made his way past Isack Hadjar and Lando Norris as he fought to recover points.
His position was boosted further when trouble hit Antonelli and Red Bull's Max Verstappen, promoting him back into the podium positions.
With the race ending under a safety car, Russell crossed the line in second place, having jumped ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who opted to pit when the safety car was called.
“But if somebody told me, as I drove out of the pits in P7 behind Hadjar, we were going to finish second 14 laps later.
“There’s no way this is possible unless it was going to pour down with rain.
“But that’s the sport. You just got to keep on pushing and never give up.”
Russell now sits 25 points down on title rival Antonelli.
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Nick Golding and Samuel Coop as they look back on last weekend's British Grand Prix! They discuss whether the title fight has been blown wide open, if Ferrari is a genuine contender and Max Verstappen's major criticism of the RB22.
Get the latest F1 news from RacingNews365 directly in your Google feed! Click on the link below and you’ll see your favourite F1 website appearing even more often. That way, you’ll never miss any news, analyses, interviews, or exclusives.
Follow RacingNews365 on GoogleMost read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..













Join the conversation!