Motorsports
Russell Runs Home
Silverstone, United Kingdom (AFP) George Russell heads into the British Grand Prix chasing a home victory that could sharpen his title challenge after a timely return to form in Austria.
The 28-year-old Mercedes driver cut into the gap to team-mate Kimi Antonelli with victory at the Red Bull Ring last Sunday, his second win of the season after back-to-back pole positions.
Russell remains 40 points behind the 19-year-old Italian after eight rounds of the 22-race championship, but his Austria win ended a difficult run and restored the momentum that made him a pre-season title favorite.
Antonelli still leads the Mercedes charge after winning five straight races earlier in the season, but Russell’s latest result has reopened the intra-team contest before one of the biggest weekends on the calendar.
Mercedes enters Silverstone in strong shape after winning nine of the last 13 British races and seven grands prix this season. The Brackley-based team is expected to be well suited to Silverstone’s high-speed layout, where its car and power unit package have been among the strongest on the grid.
Russell said he would welcome a wider fight involving more teams and drivers as the hybrid era continues to deliver unpredictable racing.
“I’d love a big fight,” said Russell.
“To be honest, you want the best drivers with the best teams all fighting and, of course, Max is very much one of the best – with Lewis, Charles, Lando, Oscar…
“The more the merrier. It feels like when we all raced in go-karting… That’s how it should be.”
A win for Russell would extend a recent run of British success at Silverstone after Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris won in 2024 and 2025. Russell, Hamilton and Norris also delivered the first all-British podium since 1968 when they finished first, second and third in Catalunya.
“I’m so looking forward to it,” said Russell. “It’s the atmosphere, the fans. I’m sure it’s going to be great.”
Mercedes, however, is unlikely to have a clear path. Defending champion Norris of McLaren, Ferrari’s seven-time world champion Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen are all former Silverstone winners.
Hamilton, who won his first Ferrari race and the 106th victory of his career in Spain three weeks ago, is chasing a record-extending 10th British Grand Prix win. But he admitted Ferrari still has work to do after its power disadvantage showed in Austria.
“There’s no magic fix in racing,” he said. “It’s a lot of small steps.”
Verstappen, who finished a close second in Austria with Red Bull’s revised car, played down his chances at Silverstone, saying the circuit’s high-speed demands leave little room for energy recovery.
“You barely have any battery around the lap – it’s just constantly flat out,” he said.
The British Grand Prix will be the fourth sprint weekend of the season.
Toyota Motor Philippines is bringing the Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippine Cup back to the track on 11 July 2026 at Clark International Speedway, with the next leg set to test alternative fuels under race conditions.
The series was paused after its opening round in March at Riverpark in General Trias, Cavite, following the Automobile Association of the Philippines’ decision to suspend sanctioned motorsports events due to the fuel crisis. With AAP allowing selected racing activities to resume, Toyota’s one-make series is returning with a new fuel direction.
The Clark round will serve as a “rolling laboratory” for Toyota, using ethanol-blended fuels for the Vios One-Make Race cars and biodiesel for the Tamaraw One-Make Race vehicles. Toyota said the program supports Gazoo Racing’s role as a testing ground for building better cars while exploring more sustainable racing solutions.
The March opener marked the competitive debut of the Tamaraw OMR on the 2.4-kilometer Riverpark street course. Toyota Motor Philippines president Masando Hashimoto also joined the action behind the wheel of a Tamaraw, while Iñigo Anton and Will Lucas took wins in their respective classes.
The Vios OMR also ran during the first leg, with Sporting, Super Sporting and Legacy race classes on the grid. Both the Tamaraw and Vios OMRs are expected to return at Clark for the July race weekend.
Other local motorsports events have also resumed, including the Makabayan Endurance Race Series and Super Sprint, where alternative fuels are being encouraged among competitors.
For Toyota, the Clark leg gives the TGR Philippine Cup a role beyond competition. It puts biofuel use under the pressure of actual racing, where heat, speed, consistency and reliability can be measured in real time.
Max Verstappen arrives at Red Bull’s home Austrian Grand Prix looking for a season reset, with the team bringing a major upgrade package to the Red Bull Ring this weekend.
The four-time world champion has not won since last year’s Abu Dhabi season finale. A strong result in Spielberg would help revive his title bid and give Red Bull a clearer read on whether its latest updates can address the performance issues that have slowed the team this season.
Verstappen has a strong record at the venue. He won the Austrian Grand Prix in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023, and also took the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix at the same circuit during the pandemic. No other driver has more than one Austrian Grand Prix victory.
“Austria is a home race for the team and it’s been great for me in the past,” Verstappen said. “We have good memories there. It’s an interesting challenge. All the corners are quite different so balance is really important.”
He said the Red Bull Ring demands a car that works across different conditions, from high-speed sections to slower corners. Verstappen also pointed to traction, energy management and power deployment as key factors.
“We have a new package this weekend so I’m hoping we can be closer to where we want to be,” he said.
The short and fast circuit in the Styrian Alps is expected to produce close racing. It could also extend a run of changing fortunes in the championship after Lewis Hamilton ended Mercedes’ six-race winning streak with his first Ferrari victory in Spain.
Hamilton’s win in Catalunya was the 106th of his Formula One career and strengthened his bid for an eighth drivers’ title. He sits 41 points behind Mercedes teenager Kimi Antonelli, who remains on top of the standings despite recording his first retirement of the season in Spain.
Mercedes will also bring upgrades to Austria, where George Russell won in 2024. Ferrari is set to introduce an engine update as it targets a historic 250th Formula One victory.
McLaren is also expected to contend. Defending Austrian Grand Prix winner Lando Norris won from pole last year, while the team will test an experimental rear wing during Friday practice.
Hamilton says renewed belief powered his first Ferrari win
Lewis Hamilton said a rebuilt mindset helped carry him to his first Grand Prix victory with Ferrari, ending a winless run of nearly two years at the Barcelona-Catalunya Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday.
The 41-year-old British driver was visibly emotional after crossing the line at Montmeló, where he delivered his first win for the Scuderia since joining the Italian team last season.
Hamilton, a record seven-time world champion tied with Michael Schumacher, said the result came after months of doubt, criticism and personal work to regain the belief that made him one of Formula One’s most successful drivers.
He said the key was learning not to second-guess himself.
“The thing I know is to never second-guess yourself, never doubt yourself, you’ve got to continue to believe in yourself at the core,” Hamilton told reporters.
He said he had worked to restore that mentality after a difficult first year with Ferrari.
“Those are the things that I’ve managed to re-implement into my mentality. And I’ve rebuilt my mind to this point, to get myself back to where I was,” he said.
The win lifted Hamilton back into the title picture, although he remains 41 points behind Mercedes’ teenage championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
Hamilton said he never lost faith in his decision to move to Ferrari, even as pressure grew around him last season.
“I truly believed in my decision in joining Ferrari, I truly believe what this team could achieve, what we could achieve together,” he said.
He admitted the early excitement around his move was soon followed by doubt and negativity, but credited his family, friends and supporters for helping him through that period.
“I really feel like my fans really rescued me last year. My family, also friends, stuck with me through it all,” he said.
Hamilton said he had to shut out outside noise and focus on people who knew him best.
He described the process as unplugging from the “Matrix” and spending more time with family, friends and “real people” who had never doubted him.
The turnaround, he said, began during the holidays.
“I just went on the mission from Christmas Day, the training that I put in, was harder than I’ve ever experienced,” Hamilton said.
The Barcelona win also carried history. Schumacher claimed his first Ferrari victory at the same circuit in 1996.
Hamilton said he remembered watching that race as a child, sitting at home with a plate on his lap and wondering what it would be like to sit in the red car.
Nearly three decades later, he stood on the top step of the podium in Ferrari colors.
“It was really amazing to witness and to see,” Hamilton said. “I nearly passed out… my heart was exploding with joy.”
