F1 Gossip: Russell ‘ready’ for Mercedes chance alongside Hamilton

- George Russell says he feels “ready” to fight for race wins and world championships alongside Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.

The current Williams driver has been heavily linked with a promotion to Mercedes for 2022 in place of Valtteri Bottas and spoke about the possibility of becoming Hamilton’s next F1 teammate ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix.

“I guess, hypothetically, that could be exciting to some, especially British fans,” Russell told The Silverstone Podcast. "But I won’t talk about hypotheticals just yet. As I said, I just want to be fighting for victories, fighting for world championships.

“I feel ready. I’ve spent three years working my way up from the back to the midfield, performing at my absolute maximum, trying to get the most out of my team around me. And I think we’ve done a really good job and a really solid job.

“But it is different when you are fighting for victories and fighting for championships, as I experienced in my junior career. That’s what I live for and hopefully that day will come sooner rather than later. I got a small taste last year, but I want to taste it week in, week out.” (The Silverstone Podcast) 

- 1996 F1 world champion Damon Hill believes Lewis Hamilton now faces a “tough” challenge to beat Max Verstappen to this year’s world title (Sky Sports F1) 

- Silverstone would be “delighted” to host a second F1 race later this years if the world championship needs an additional venue to meet its target of 23 races (Motorsport Week)

- Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur believes an increase in technical directives in F1 goes against the DNA of the championship (RaceFans) 

- Daniel Ricciardo has admitted his adjustment process at McLaren has been “probably the most difficult” he has faced in years as he continues to get up to speed at his new team (Auto Motor und Sport) 

- Williams CEO Jost Capito feels his team’s disappointment at finishing 11th in the Austrian Grand Prix shows just how far the British squad has come (F1.com) 

F1 drivers on opposite sides reacted to Italy's victory over England in the Euro 2020 final on social media:

Congrats on the win Italy. You did us proud @England

— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) July 11, 2021

Proud of the boys and proud to be English. They’ve given the country so much to cheer about over the past month!

Keep your heads held high

— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) July 12, 2021

Quanto è straordinariamente bello essere italiani #ITA #ItaliaInghilterra #VivoAzzurro #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/aQzN2mhHfM

— Antonio Giovinazzi (@Anto_Giovinazzi) July 11, 2021