Mercedes' George Russell has revealed that instead of dreaming of winning the British Grand Prix as a child, he instead had his eyes on owning a tractor as he felt it was more "achievable."
The Brit has moved up to second in the drivers' championship and is now just 40 points adrift from his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli after winning the Austrian Grand Prix last time out.
Russell, 28, is in touch with his agricultural roots and grew up in the countryside on the Norfolk and Cambridgeshire border.
"I remember dreaming of having a Massey Ferguson tractor when I was a kid," Russell told media ahead of the British Grand Prix. "Because that was what was achievable if I succeeded.
"I've got a [Mercedes] Project One. So I will get a Massey Ferguson tractor one day, but it was so far out of reach that it wasn't even possible to dream that could be a reality."
Russell, who has never won his home race, said he thinks this year represents his "best shot" at getting the job done at Silverstone on Sunday.
He said: "For sure it's my best shot, but it's not [something] I really think about because I'm focused on my processes, focused on working hard with my team, because I know that's what translates into a victory, it's not dreaming about it, [it's about] working towards it.
"When I was a kid it was, I guess it was so far-fetched, I'm not even sure it was a dream because it was just not even possible to comprehend."
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Mercedes has won seven out of eight races this season and has remained the team to beat, but he still believes that several teams are now in the fight.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton won for the first time for Ferrari at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix in June, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen was on Russell's tail finishing second in Austria last weekend.
"I think it's three, four, five drivers are all in the fight week in, week out now," Russell said.
"Of course, we're still at the forefront of that group, but we've seen Lando [Norris] could have potentially won the race in Miami, Lewis obviously won the race in Barcelona, Max was right behind me last week in Austria, so yeah, there's a fight on our hands."
