George Russell expected passing both McLarens for a Mercedes double Formula 1 podium would be "clear cut" at the end of the British Grand Prix. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were on the Hard tyre after the Kevin Magnussen-induced Safety Car restart on Lap 39 of 52, with Russell and Hamilton were on Medium and Soft tyres respectively. The Hard tyre traditionally takes longer to get into the operating window, but both Norris and Piastri were able to fend off attacks from behind with a two-four being McLaren's best result since the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. "I thought it was going to be clear cut, Lewis and I P2 and P3 - see you later," Russell told media including RacingNews365. "I couldn't believe how well they turned on the tyres, perhaps if they put the Soft on their car it may not have worked the same way as it worked on ours. "Equally if we had the Hards on, it probably wouldn't have worked the same way as it did on their car. "But [going for] Medium/Hard was definitely the wrong strategy, the Softs were certainly the best tyre. "They were a good one-and-a half to two-tenths ahead of us."
Russell: 'No reason' why McLaren will not be regularly up there
McLaren have been rejuvenated over the last two races with their Austrian GP upgrade transforming the MCL60, just as Mercedes have fallen off competitively, with Russell adamant they can be a fixture in the leading gaggle. "I see no reason why [McLaren] shouldn't be up there now," said Russell. "We've come from the Red Bull Ring which is a very different circuit to Silverstone, they were a small step ahead of us on both occasions so I don't know how they've found this much performance. "We don't tend to focus too much on our competitors, we just need to keep focusing on ourselves. "It gives me inspiration that it can be possible [to catch up], but we need to try and turn it up."
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