Russell takes double win at Silverstone

• Italiano

Lanan Racing’s George Russell leads the BRDC F4 Championship after winning both of Sunday races on the Silverstone GP circuit. Russell’s victory in race one was his first ever car race win, and was secured from fourth on the grid.

In Race 2 Hillspeed’s Gustavo Lima led at the end of the opening lap with pole sitter Arjun Maini second from Sennan Fielding and Russell. Russell passed Fielding and Maini on the second lap and then began to hound Lima for the lead, making a move stick on lap three. From there he proceeded to stretch out a comfortable gap of over four seconds at one point before easing off in the final laps to take the win by 3.8s. Danish driver Nicolas Beer claimed second for Sean Walkinshaw Racing with Russell’s Lanan Racing team mate Struan Moore fighting his way from 22nd and last on the grid to finish third. Early championship leader Raoul Hyman finished fourth having started eighth, with Lima and Will Palmer fifth and sixth.

Russell proved just as feisty in the final race of the weekend, rising from sixth on the grid this time to take the win. He made an excellent start to run in third place at the end of the opening lap and hit the front on lap three before again stretching out a comfortable lead. Behind him, team mate Maini was threatening Douglas Motorsport’s Diego Menchaca, and found a way past on lap five to give Lanan Racing a 1-2, with Menchaca completing the podium. Chris Middlehurst converted 15th on the grid to take fourth, his strongest result of the weekend, while Moore repeated his race two heroics to take fifth having started 21st. Fielding originally finished sixth but was excluded from the results of the race after causing a collision with Beer, promoting Palmer to sixth.

Russell holds a 13 point lead at the top of the F4 standings after the first weekend of competition, with Menchaca second. Saturday race winner and early championship leader Hyman is third overall having finished a strong fourth in race two but was hindered in race three after David Wagner made contact with him on the opening lap, a move which earned the Scotsman a 10-second post-race time penalty. Maini’s podium in race three elevates him to fourth overall in the standings with Palmer fifth and Lima sixth.

The next rounds of the BRDC F4 Championship take place on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit on 17-18 May, supporting the Blancpain GT Series.

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• , George Russell
• , David Wagner