George Russell ready to 'give it absolutely everything' for victory in front of home crowd

Mercedes driver George Russell admits that he would love his first Formula 1 victory to be in front of his home fans at Silverstone.

This weekend's British Grand Prix takes place at Silverstone, which happens to be a stone's throw away from Mercedes' F1 headquarters plus is also a circuit that Russell knows well.

This will be Russell's first race at Silverstone as a Mercedes driver, having participated three times before while driving for Williams.

A fond place

In an interview on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Russell said: "Not that I'd back off on the last lap if I'm second or third to not be on the podium, but Silverstone has such a fond place in my heart; it's where I won my first ever race, it's where I did my first-ever race as well, won it, first race! It's where I did my first ever test in a F1 car.

"And just being my home race, the support is huge, so I can't wait to get there, and I'll be giving it absolutely everything I've got."

Teammate Lewis Hamilton has won eight times at Silverstone, which had sent the crowd into raptures after those victories, and Russell admits that he would love that to happen to him on Sunday.

"I think it's going to feel electric to be honest," the youngster said. "I remember last year, Silverstone, was the first race F1 had a full crowd back after we spent a year and a half without fans… and it was a slap in the face how much support it was and how awesome it was to have fans back.

"Every driver loves going to great circuits; every driver loves going to the country that the fans are so excited and so supportive of the sport; and every driver loves their home race. And for me, I feel like I've got the three in one. So it's going to be huge."