Russell ‘absolutely buzzing’ with home pole as Hamilton hopes Mercedes pair can ‘work together’ to beat Norris

George Russell hailed a “mega” result for himself and the British contingent of drivers after he stormed to pole position at Silverstone over Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton and McLaren’s Lando Norris.

At the end of a wet-dry session, Russell produced a spectacular time of 1m 25.819s to move 0.171s clear of seven-time world champion Hamilton, with Norris a few thousandths further back in third.

READ MORE: Russell beats Hamilton to pole at Silverstone as Norris completes all-British top three

It marked Russell’s third pole of his F1 career, and second of the 2024 season after Canada, with the 26-year-old also aiming to make it back-to-back race wins after triumphing in Austria last time out.

Speaking post-qualifying, Russell said: “What a feeling, what a feeling! At the start of this year we couldn’t have even dreamt of being on pole here.

“A one-two for Lewis and I, Lando in P3… It’s just mega. It’s down to all these fans as well, they give us so much energy, so thank you so much for that.”

He continued: “The car at the moment is feeling so, so good. It really came alive in quali. Honestly, what a joy to drive around this circuit.

“We’re riding this wave at the moment, absolutely buzzing, but eyes on tomorrow because we’ve got a race to win. It’s going to be tight with Lando, Max [Verstappen in fourth] is going to be fast as well, but I’m so excited right now.”

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Pushed on how much the fans in the packed grandstands and on the grass banks around the track have been spurring him on this weekend, Russell said they “give us all so much energy”.

“The three of us… I don’t think Silverstone could have dreamt of the three Brits in the top three,” he commented. “Honestly, the support, we just absolutely love it, and we can’t wait for the race tomorrow.”

While he narrowly missed out on what would have been a first pole since last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Hamilton heaped praise on both Mercedes and team mate Russell for their efforts – and also paid tribute to the home support.

“First off, a big, big thanks to this incredible crowd,” said Hamilton. “We’re proud to be here… Three Brits in the top three is incredible.

“A huge congratulations to George, he did such a great job. We definitely didn’t expect to be front row this weekend, but this is huge for us, for our team.

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“The car felt fantastic out there, so everyone in the garage here, all our team who have come here [from the factories] really deserve this.”

Opening up on how his session unfolded, Hamilton added: “It was just about getting the tyre temperatures in the right place, and sealing the deal when you had the time on-track. I think I was able to do that…

“I think, ultimately, there was still time left on the table, which George was able to find, but I feel really confident about the car tomorrow. I think with the [weather] conditions we have, we can work together to keep Lando behind.”