George Russell suffers Silverstone heartbreak as Mercedes explain ...

George Russell failed to finish the British Grand Prix after a problem was discovered on his car during the race.

The Briton had started on pole at Silverstone after going faster than team-mate Lewis Hamilton in qualifying. And he would have come into the Grand Prix dreaming of taking his third career F1 victory in front of British fans.

But it ended in heartbreak as, on lap 34, while he was running fourth, he got the message to go to the pit lane. He was told to retire the car as Mercedes confirmed that a suspected water system issue had been discovered on his W15.

All Russell could do was swear loudly over the airwaves, clearly distraught with how his day had gone. He then pulled into the pit lane and the Mercedes was put up on jacks and wheeled back into the garage.

But there was better news for Mercedes ahead as Lewis Hamilton won the Grand Prix to delight the Silverstone crowds. It was his first victory in 945 days, since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The seven-time F1 champion made it career victory number 104 by taking the chequered flag. And he was helped to do so by a squabble between Norris and Verstappen in the final few laps for second place, which meant both lost time to the man ahead.

Verstappen got the better of the McLaren driver, but wasn't able to catch up to Hamilton in time to fight with his old rival. Instead, he was a couple of seconds up the road as the 39-year-old took the chequered flag to a standing ovation from the fans at Silverstone.

Hamilton was in tears as he spoke over the radio to his team, telling race engineer Peter Bonnington: "I love you, Bono." And after climbing out of his Mercedes he held the Union Flag high to the fans before jumping into the huge crowd of Mercedes staff that had amassed in parc ferme to celebrate with their race winner.

Bonnington joined Hamilton, who was still draped in the flag, on the podium. And his mother, Carmen Larbalestier, was also in the crowd to watch her son race to glory. Max Verstappen finished in second - the Dutchman was hunting down Hamilton late on but couldn't catch his old rival.

In Russell's absence, Lando Norris made it two Brits on the podium ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri. And Carlos Sainz, who finished fifth, stopped late on to take the extra point for the fastest lap.

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