"Pitstop at Wimbledon": George Russell meets tennis legend Novak Djokovic

Mercedes driver George Russell was seen interacting with the 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships on Wednesday, July 10. The British driver was seen sitting in the Royal Box in Centre Court, enjoying the action during the women's quarter-finals.

Russell is an avid tennis fan and has been spotted in the Monte Carlo Masters and Wimbledon Championships in previous years as well. Before heading into the Royal Box, he was seen chatting with Djokovic, who was due to play later in the day, but advanced after his quarter-final opponent Alex de Minaur withdrew from the match citing a hip injury.

The Serb was in a relaxed mood during the interaction as he had already made his way to another Wimbledon semi-final where he would face Lorenzo Musetti.

The Wimbledon Championships' official Instagram handle shared a couple of pictures of George Russell and Novak Djokovic and wrote:

"A pit stop at #Wimbledon."

George Russell too on his X account shared a picture with the 37-year-old tennis icon and wrote about his experience of the Championships:

"Wimbledon 🎾🍓🇬🇧 I always love it here, and great to see some familiar faces too @DjokerNole."

It was the 26-year-old's first public appearance since his DNF at the British GP on the weekend where he started his home race at Silverstone from the pole position.

George Russell reviews his British GP DNF after a promising start

Mercedes driver George Russell stated that he was 'disappointed' with his DNF at the British GP which was caused by a suspected water system issue.

Speaking with F1.com, the young Brit said:

“Yeah, really disappointed. It was… Everything was under control at the beginning in the dry, then very challenging conditions in the damp. I started losing power and next thing I had to retire the car, so yeah, really disappointing.”

However, he was slightly upbeat about the positive trajectory of the W15 as was evident from Lewis Hamilton's win on Sunday, adding:

“I mean, for sure we’ll take the positives. The car’s fast and we’ll have more opportunities, but retiring from any race is disappointing, let alone your home race. We definitely had a shot of at least a podium.” he added.

The DNF was also a blow for Russell in the driver's championship as he was on course to score big points on Sunday before his retirement. Hamilton's win meant that the 39-year-old has closed the gap on his compatriot in the standings to just one point, sitting at 110 points after 12 races and three sprints so far in the 2024 season.

The duo have been instrumental in Mercedes emerging as the highest points scorer in the triple header, outscoring McLaren and Red Bull.