© Sam Bloxham for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix ltd.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell attended the 2024 British Grand Prix Thursday Drivers’ Press Conference. Here is the full transcript!
Q: Why don’t we come to Formula 1’s most recent winner, George Russell. Second victory in the bag. What was the most satisfying aspect of your win in Austria last weekend?
George RUSSELL: Yeah it was. It’s always great to be back on the top step and obviously there’s been so much hard work from the whole team to improve the car and get us in a in a position to do that. I said afterwards I felt like we should have won the race in Montréal and ended up P3 and at the weekend probably should have. Well we should have finished P3 and we won the race and that’s how racing goes sometimes but It’s so great. We now have an opportunity to be fighting the front, fighting for podiums, and ready to capitalise when things happen.
Q: What chance are there of things happening this weekend at Silverstone?
GR: You’ve got to ask this guy [Lando] if there’s much going to happen. But I think it’s going to be a good fight again this weekend. I think Lando and Max are probably going to be the two guys out in front. They look really fast in the high-speed corners the last couple of races. And, of course, here in Silverstone, there’s a lot of high-speed sections. So I expect those guys to be the favourites. But I don’t think we’ll be far behind.
Q: Alright. Good luck this weekend. Thank you. Lewis, can I come to you now? You’ve had many close battles with Max Verstappen. What did you make of what happened between Lando and him last weekend in Austria?
Lewis HAMILTON: Nothing, really. I didn’t think anything of it. I was more concerned about my race and enjoying the team’s win.
Q: Well, you’ve told us in the past that you treat Max differently on track. So what advice could you give to Lando about going wheel to wheel with Max?
LH: Again, I don’t think I need to. They’ve raced each other for many years.
Q: You’re not going to be drawn on this, are you?
LH: That’s nothing to do with me.
Q: Alright, well, let’s bring it on to this weekend, then, Lewis. You’re going for a record ninth win here at Silverstone. Have you got the car to do that?
LH: I think out of pure performance, I don’t think we are currently in the same place. Naturally, as you’ve seen in the last couple of races, on these high-speed circuits, particularly McLaren, I think probably might be the quickest, or at least Max maybe. And I think we’re not that far behind. And I think we’ve definitely seen some really huge strides forward. And it’s really great to see that we are slowly eking closer to the front runners.
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QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Simon Lazenby – Sky Sports) I suppose opening that question to the floor: Lewis, you’ve kind of touched on it there, but it’s the same question to all of you. Do you have to race differently when you’re going wheel to wheel with Max Verstappen?
GR: No, I don’t think so, to be honest. You know Max is one of the best, and he’s a hard racer, and he’ll push the rules to the limit, as all of the top drivers do, to be honest. So, yeah, I think we all know what the rules are, what the rules are around moving under braking. You probably push that slightly beyond the limit. As for the incident, as Lando said, it was just kind of a very small thing with big consequences and part of racing. So, yeah, short answer is no.
Q: Lewis, please.
LH: Yeah, not a lot to add. I mean, I’ve spoken about it before.
Q: (Ernst Hausleitner, ORF) You’ve had so many great memories at Silverstone. Is there one that stands out?
LH: Yeah, I think 2008 will always be probably the most special. My first Grand Prix win here in the rain. And that’s my first real, I would say, engagement or the beginning of the journey with the fans here.
Q: (Roldan Rodriguez – DAZN, Spain) To George, to Lando. You must have dreamt many times of winning your home race. What would it mean to you if it happened?
GR: Yeah, I mean, obviously, for us, winning any Grand Prix is an incredible feeling. We both don’t have many to our name, but you’re home Grand Prix is always the one that you dream of. And I think we’re so fortunate to have Silverstone as our home race because I truly think this weekend is really special for the fans, the amount of support we all have here. They’re proper F1 enthusiasts. We came here as kids to watch other F1 races, so for sure it will always be special to get that opportunity.
Q: (Mara Sangiorgio – Sky Sports Italia) Lewis, are you interested in buying the Grassini motorbike team?
LH: I’ve always loved MotoGP. I’m interested in the potential growth of the sport, but I haven’t looked that far into it just yet. But anything’s possible. I’m definitely interested in, as I said before, about equity and already with the Broncos, it was already a first step in team ownership. And so, yeah, I think over the next five to 10 years, there’ll be hopefully more. We’ll see where.
Q: (Roldan Rodriguez – DAZN, Spain) Again, a question to Lewis. You said before that one of your best moments was winning here in 2008. What was the big difference with the winning in 2021? It was a win as well. Your different feelings?
LH: 2021 was still, I think, a great feeling. I think I’d been on such a long journey with the British fans and we have such great, really the best fans here. I think, I don’t know, I think it was just because it was a wet race and it was the trickiest conditions that a racing driver will experience. and just the level that I was able to operate that day, I think it was like 68 seconds I won the race by. So it was like far out did any other race that I think I probably have ever done, particularly in the rain.
Q: (Graham Harris – Motorsport Monday) George, there’s been a lot of talk this season about Lewis’ seat and Max and Kimi Antonelli. Do you think your results have gone under the radar and how do you assess your season based on last year and do you think you’ve been underappreciated?
GR: No, no, to be honest, I think the results speak for themselves, and I don’t need to talk about it. As many drivers say, you do the talking on the track, and I think the season’s probably one of the best I’ve ever had in terms of my own performance and grabbing the results when they’re coming. Of course, there’s a lot of talk about the second seat, but that’s normal. It’s exciting. Mercedes, one of the most successful teams in the sport, and it’s a seat that many drivers want. It’s like the race last week. When there’s a bit of drama or a bit of action, that’s where the talking should be, and that’s how it always will be. Yeah, nothing really more to say.
Q: George, Toto said this week that Carlos Sainz is still an option for the second seat at Mercedes next year. Would you welcome him as a team-mate?
GR: Yeah, I’d welcome anyone, anybody to be honest. You know, I’ve been lucky having Lewis for the last three years and we’ve had some great battles in the last couple of years. But you know, as a driver, I think it’s important you have a good relationship between the two of you just to help that team momentum and pushing in the same direction. But ultimately, and when you walk into your garage, you put your helmet on, you jump in your car. It doesn’t really matter who’s sat in the seat alongside you.
Q: (Giles Richards – The Guardian) Andrea said last week that the reason Max drives as he does now is because he hasn’t punished sufficiently in the past. Lewis, you were on the receiving end of that several times. Do you agree with what Andrea said?
LH: I don’t agree with that, no.
Q: You don’t agree with that?
LH: No. That’s my answer.
Q: Can you elaborate any more?
LH: I just don’t agree with it.
Q: (Graham Harris – Motorsport Monday) Lewis and Esteban, you’re both leaving your teams at the end of the season and a lot of stuff gets reported in the press that you’re excluded from meetings and stuff. How does it actually work in practice that they still maintain a good relationship with you but keep you out of briefings for next year’s car and development stories?
LH: Similar for me. I mean, I haven’t been excluded from any meetings and we’re still working on this car and trying to get the car to the front. So it’s still very collaborative. And I mean, I’ve been here a long time. So if there’s a point where they’re like, we’re preferring not to be in this meeting, that’s totally fine with me. I mean, it’s inevitable perhaps at one stage, but at the end of the day, Nothing I have, no information that I would get this year will impact next year because I’m not in communication. Nothing passes hands until I start the season next year. And it takes time to develop things.
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Lewis how much are you talking to Ferrari in general about next year and John Elkann about some of your off-track initiatives?
LH: Yeah, I speak to John most weeks. So, yeah, we talked today, actually. So just talking about fashion and things that we want to do. And, yeah, but nothing racing-wise. He knows that racing and winning is the main priority, but we can’t talk about that yet.
Q: (Simon Abberley – Nevis Radio) Question for Lando, George, and Lewis. To the three British drivers, can we get your thoughts on ticket prices for the British Grand Prix?
GR: I think the sport’s in a very healthy place. Silverstone isn’t supported by any governments, as many other races are. So I don’t know about the profitability of Silverstone itself. I do feel that Silverstone, as an event, exceeds every other race on the calendar. You’ve got A-list acts singing on Thursday, Friday, Saturday nights. They’ve got to be paid. They’ve got to be funded for. The whole atmosphere of this weekend is more like a festival as opposed to one race. And if you compare the price of a ticket for a 90-minute football game versus a four-day event it’d be interesting to see how it how it tallies up. But of course you never want it to be too expensive for fans to become a watch and support us. It’s a very difficult one but as I said I do think Silverstone does an incredibly good job and they haven’t always been profitable in the past.
LH: Yeah, I mean, I think what George and Lando said, I think, is accurate. I mean, ultimately, it is an amazing sporting event. I think Silverstone and with the BRDC, I think they’ve done an amazing job over the years to make the weekend packed and entertaining. Naturally, with where we are in the world, the prices continue to go up, and that’s obviously not something the fans want to see. But Silverstone doesn’t have the government funding, and perhaps there’s a need to investigate a new business plan, maybe to have outside investors maybe. I don’t know. That’s not my job, obviously. But yeah, not really much more to add to that.
GR: Maybe you could invest if you’re looking at more business opportunities.
LH: It’s only just become profitable, so not the best investment for me!
Q: (Ian Parkes – New York Times) To the three British drivers, I’m sure you’re aware, there’s going to be a fourth British driver on the grid next year in Ollie Bearman. Just get your thoughts on that, what that means for British motorsport going forward, and also just get your general thoughts on Ollie as well, from what you’ve made of him so far?
LH: Yeah, we did a phenomenal job earlier on this year. Yeah, bright young talent, and I think it’s great that the UK is pumping out a lot of great young talented drivers. I would say Silverstone and the BRDC have been a part of that, I would say, because they do invest in young and up-and-coming, a lot of the sport’s young and up-and-coming drivers. I think, yeah, I think it’s amazing for the sport. Takes the pressure off of all of us. At least hopefully one of the Brits would be up there.
GR: Yeah, clearly Ollie’s a great driver and it’s great to see four Brits on the grid and I think it just goes to show the strength of British motorsport. I think when we raced in Karting, the competition was so high and I think that translates into next year, 20% of the grid being Brits. Obviously, Alex, half British as well, so it’s great to see him there and I’m sure he’ll do a great job.
Q: (Nigel Chiu – Sky Sports) Just to go back to Ollie Bearman, Lewis, Obviously, Ferrari are very invested in his future. Do you plan to maybe take him under your wing a little bit? Is that something the team has asked you to do?
LH: No, no, I’ve not been asked to and it’s not even been a thought. I don’t think he needs to. I think he’s a sharp enough lad. And I think, I mean, naturally, as one of the older drivers here, my door’s always open if anyone ever has a question or any advice that’s needed.
