George Russell retirement explained as British Grand Prix ends in disaster for pole sitter

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen were behind the two Mercedes drivers on the grid, setting up a fascinating battle at Silvrestone.

It was a clean getaway from the frontrunners with the weather soon having a huge impact on the race.

Hamilton took the lead from Russell before they were both caught by Norris when they came into the pits for intermediates.

Russell fell further behind his rivals after a slow pit stop and disaster struck on lap 34 when he was told to retire his car.

The Mercedes driver had been closing in on Max Verstappen, who was struggling for grip on the intermediates.

Russell's retirement appeared to come out of nowhere as he hadn't been complaining of any issues.

Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz confirmed it was due to a suspected water systems issue.

That meant Russell missed out on a chance to win his home race, but it opened the door for others around him.

Norris held the initial advantage after the first round of pit stops, but that soon changed when the track began to dry out.

Hamilton seemingly timed his pit stop to perfection as he came in a lap before Norris and ended up undercutting the McLaren driver to take the lead with 12 laps remaining.

The seven-time world champion still had a speedy Verstappen to worry about, who managed to get past Norris on lap 48.

But Hamilton did enough as the Red Bull driver's threat waned in the final few laps.

LATEST SPORT NEWS:

• Judy Murray issues blunt two-word response to Emma Raducanu withdrawing from Wimbledon mixed doubles
• Emma Raducanu ends Andy Murray’s Wimbledon career early by pulling out of mixed doubles
• England fans want Gareth Southgate 'sacked immediately' as team leaked for Euro 2024 quarter-final

Russell was left gutted after retiring from the race having started on pole.

"Probably about 10 laps before I had to retire. I saw temperature alarms coming up my steering wheel and some sort of water cooling failure," he said.

"I don't really know what to say. The car was feeling so good.

"I knew it was going to be a long race. I struggled a bit around the damp patches but very gutting."