One week on from the British Grand Prix, George Russell returned to the Silverstone International Circuit on Friday to complete a successful practice program ahead of Formula 1’s 70th Anniversary event.

The Williams Racing driver concluded the opening practice session with a best time of a 1:28.170s after completing 24 tours of the 5.891km-long venue – a performance that was worthy of 15th at the close of the 90-minute window.

In the afternoon, George improved his pace further by shaving 0.850s off his previous personal best to take 16th, successfully out-pacing team-mate Nicholas Latifi in both sessions. 

By completing a further 31 laps in the afternoon, George clocked a total of 55 tours over the course of three hours of running, evaluating new parts on his FW43 car to aid the vehicle’s continual improvement by providing valuable feedback.

George Russell – Williams Racing Driver

“It was good fun out there and the conditions were very different to last week. It was very tricky on the C4 tyre, but I think everybody found that tough. At least a third of the grid set their quickest time on the medium tyre and not on the soft. I think it will be an interesting and tricky qualifying session. I think if you play it right you can set your quickest lap on the mediums, so there will be some interesting strategies tomorrow.”

George’s preparations for the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix will continue tomorrow in FP3 before the Briton contests qualifying for the fifth race of the 2020 World Championship.