Russell final qualifying run ‘compromised’ ahead of British Grand Prix
5th July 2026Mercedes’ George Russell has said that his final run in Q3 was compromised, resulting in his fourth-place starting position ahead of the British Grand Prix.
Feature image credit: Mercedes F1
Mercedes’ championship contender, Russell, will start on the second row of the grid at his home event, starting behind his championship-leading teammate Kimi Antonelli, who claimed pole position for the British Grand Prix.
The #63 Mercedes was fortunate to have made it to Q3 at Silverstone after the Briton locked up and understeered off the circuit at Luffield, in what Russell described as ‘weird.’ Despite the off, he was able to return to the pits and continue after repairs to his front wing.
Russell claims he was in the fight for pole position, coming into Q3, but traffic on his out lap hindered his ability to get the tyres inside their optimal window, forcing him to settle for fourth, behind his former teammate, Lewis Hamilton, in the Ferrari.
Following qualifying, Russell said:
“I had a small off in Q1 in Qualifying, but we recovered and were in the fight for pole. On my final run though I caught some traffic on my out lap and didn’t quite get the tyres in the right window. That meant that my push lap was compromised from the start and we had to settle for P4.
“That was frustrating but we know that we can move forward tomorrow. We will be doing everything we can to do so and get in the mix at the very front.”
Kimi Antonelli takes pole position for the British Grand Prix
Russell seemed to struggle for most of the weekend, maximising his car throughout the sprint weekend, having only bested the fifth fastest in sprint qualifying before improving slightly to fourth in the traditional qualifying session.
Whilst he reports the car’s balance has been strong, the King’s Lynn driver claims the biggest weakness was their straight-line speed.
Russell suggested he had the pace to chase after both Hamilton and Antonelli in the fight for the race win during the sprint. However, he spent most of Saturday afternoon battling the McLarens, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. He said:
“Today hasn’t been straightforward on my side. The balance of the car has been reasonably strong and I’ve felt comfortable, but we’ve been struggling with our straight-line speed. In the Sprint therefore, we ended up in a battle with the McLarens, the Red Bull of Verstappen and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
“We were able to fight our way to P4, but our pace was probably strong enough to have been in the top three and chasing Lewis (Hamilton) and Kimi (Antonelli).”
Here’s a look at what happened to Russell 👀#F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/7x2uI5CW1o
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 4, 2026
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
