Lewis Hamilton has backed George Russell and Lando Norris to dominate Formula One in the future ahead of this Sunday's British Grand Prix.
Hamilton, Russell and Norris are the three stars currently driving under the British flag in F1. There will be thousands of fans cheering the trio on at Silverstone this weekend, as Hamilton looks to end his 19-month wait for race victory - the longest drought of his career.
At 25 and 23 respectively, Russell and Norris are poised to continue completing in F1 for years to come. Hamilton, meanwhile, is approaching the end of his glittering career and is keen to add an eighth world title to his trophy collection before quitting F1.
Hamilton's kind words will mean a lot to his Mercedes team-mate Russell and McLaren talent Norris. Russell has called the British veteran the greatest driver in F1 history, while Norris admits he's "part of the reason" why he became a motorsport star.
"It's not passing the baton, but knowing we have other great British drivers will prolong the success of the Brits moving forwards," Hamilton told Sky Sports. "Our fan base will always have good drivers [to cheer] because we generally develop good drivers in the UK.
"George and Lando are both incredibly talented and have such a bright future ahead of them. It's crazy to think they are as young as they are. Lando is 23 but has been here for ages. I'm excited to watch their journey and where they get to."
Russell started his F1 career with Williams in 2019 before joining Mercedes ahead of the 2022 season. The Norfolk driver has achieved 10 podiums and won one race to date, with that victory coming at last year's Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil.
Norris is yet to win his maiden F1 race but has achieved six podiums for McLaren. He became one of the British team's two drivers in 2019 and has shown a lot of promise, despite his car struggling for pace. He's only finished in the points four times this season.
Norris was keen to wax lyrical about Hamilton when asked by Sky Sports. He said: "I have so much respect for him and what he's been able to achieve in F1. He's part of the reason I'm an F1 driver, so it's weird thinking I'm now racing against him."
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Russell also paid Hamilton a compliment when he was strapped to a lie detector last month. He replied "yes" when asked whether his Mercedes team-mate is the greatest F1 driver of all time. The lie detector confirmed Russell was telling the truth.
Hamilton will be hopeful confident of ending his drought at Silverstone rather than confident. No one has won the British Grand Prix more times than Hamilton, who has eight victories. Seven of those wins have come in the last nine years.
Yet it's Max Verstappen who's the red hot favourite to win at Silverstone this year. He's won five consecutive races, although he's never won the British Grand Prix. He did win the one-off 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone in 2020, however.
