Wisbech racer George Russell emerged from a tough weekend at the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit with three top-six finishes in his Lanan Racing machine and his points lead intact in the BRDC Formula 4 Championship.

Russell, 16, in his rookie season of car racing, was fastest in one of Friday’s test sessions, but suffered a lack of speed throughout the rest of the event.

He qualified fifth and finished in the same position in race one, which would be his best result of the weekend.

Sunday morning’s second race began on a damp track, with a few of the runners selecting slick tyres.

On his wet-weather rubber, Russell battled from fourth on the grid to pass title rival Raoul Hyman for the lead on lap three, but the track was drying rapidly.

Russell was powerless to prevent the slick-tyred runners from passing and he finished sixth, with the consolation of being the top wet-tyred contender.

With the grid for race three decided by fastest laps across the first two races – and Russell having a damaged wing in the only dry-weather race held so far – that left him down in 10th on the grid.

But a rocket opening lap took him to fifth. He was passed by Alex Palou on lap three and finished sixth.

Russell said: “We’ve definitely had some handling issues and we need to take a good look at the chassis. Silverstone has been our strongest circuit all year so it was a bit of a shock not to get a win.

“But getting good points in all three races was vital – it could have been a lot worse.”

Russell carries an 11-point championship lead into the next round on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit – where he took a race win earlier this season – on August 30-31.