Russell: To fight for the title, you need to perform better.

      At Silverstone, George Russell finished second and stepped onto the podium for the first time in his career at his home track...

      Question: George, the weekend wasn't easy for you, but in the end, you stepped onto the podium in Silverstone for the first time. How does it feel?

      George Russell: I don't even know how to describe it. It was a tough weekend. What I could control didn't work out, and what was out of my control also didn't work out, so ultimately there wasn't enough speed.

      During the race, I battled well with Max and Lewis – two of the greatest drivers of all time. I felt I could overtake Max, and with better straight-line speed than Ferrari, I could have held off Lewis. So third place would have been a fair result behind Charles and Kimi.

      But then there was a slow puncture. I just couldn't believe it. If at that moment you had told me I would finish second, I wouldn't have been able to imagine how that was possible. So I'm very happy to be on the podium.

      Question: Speaking of the feelings from the car, are they better or worse than in Austria last week?

      George Russell: The feelings were good, but there wasn't enough speed. This was largely influenced by both factors beyond my control and those I could control. I'm still struggling to understand this car.

      I'm glad I made it to the podium, but I'm still less satisfied than, say, in Canada, where I retired while leading the race. To fight for the title, I need to perform better. I need to get better. I need to work better with the team and make the most of every opportunity. We're in a tight battle with Ferrari, so it's not just about me and Kimi – Lewis is also very close to us. We need to improve our results.

      Question: How seriously do you take the threat from Ferrari?

      George Russell: Honestly, I don't think about it. There are tasks to solve. Three races ago, I left Monaco 68 points behind, and now I'm 25 points behind. But it won't last forever if speed and results don't improve.

      Question: At the beginning of the season, you often had bad luck, but then Kimi retired in Barcelona and didn't score points in Silverstone. Can we say the situation has leveled out?

      George Russell: I don't know if we're equally unlucky. But based on his and my results, my 25-point deficit can be considered fair. At the moment, he's performing better than me, so he rightly leads me. Should it be 25 points, 10 points, or 35 points – that's a matter for discussion, but within that range. You know, I also lost 15 points in Monaco due to a penalty. I think a deficit of 10 to 30 points is quite fair.

      Question: The spectators didn't like that the race finished under the safety car; they expressed their dissatisfaction and whistled in the stands. It seemed like the race was about to resume, but it didn't happen. Were you disappointed?

      George Russell: It's always a shame when a race finishes under the safety car, but it happens. No one can foresee that an incident will occur, and Formula 1's and FIA's approach to resolving such situations at the end of the race shouldn't differ from the approach at the beginning.

      Of course, there was a lot of talk after Abu Dhabi '21. But if you look at the number of races that finished under the safety car in the last 20 years, there aren't that many. Of course, it's a shame, but what can you do? I don't think the approach should be different.