Russell: "It is frustrating that we are affected by the weather as much as we are"

Having ended up fifth and eighth quickest in the first and second practice session on the opening day at the British Grand Prix, Mercedes driver George Russell stated that the high temperatures made it "a challenge to look after the tyres."

Mercedes did not look to be on the pace of their rivals Ferrari and McLaren on the opening day at the British Grand Prix, with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli left to hope that temperatures drop as the weekend continues.

The Italian was the quicker of the duo, ending up sixth, half a second adrift of Lando Norris while the home hero was two tenths of a second slower which was only enough for P8 on the leaderboard.

Commenting on his day, Russell said: "It’s been a warm day here at Silverstone, with track temperatures upwards of 40°C. That made it a challenge to look after the tyres; it is frustrating that we are affected by the weather as much as we are, but we’re all focused on improving that, particularly as we head into summer months where this will be the norm.

"If the forecast cooler conditions do appear over the rest of the weekend, that will likely help us. We won’t just sit here hoping that is the case though. We will work hard overnight to make improvements and give ourselves the best race car for Saturday and Sunday.

"I love being here at Silverstone, I love seeing all the fans, and I am hopeful that we can still get ourselves into the fight at the front, put on a good show for them, and give them something to cheer about," added the British driver.