The podium escapes
The second row is entirely occupied by the Mercedes in the qualifications of the Singapore GP had given the Brackley team hope of once again achieving the podium after the surprise 3rd place in Baku, perhaps with Lewis Hamilton. A project that both drivers were unable to complete on the tortuous Marina Bay track, starting with George Russell.
Russell limits the damage
The British, arrived 4th at the finish line, he was unable to defend himself from the return of Oscar Piastri, who made a nice overtaking move on him, while in the final laps he also suffered the comeback of Charles Leclerc. In this case, however, the Monegasque was unable to get the better of the #63: “After a very difficult Friday, we would probably have taken P4 in the Grand Prix – commented Russell – our qualifying pace, however, made us believe we could achieve more. It was definitely a difficult race for us, demanding both in terms of pace and physicality. The McLarens were really impressive and on another level compared to us, while Verstappen had the better of us. We managed to keep Leclerc’s Ferrari at bay in the closing stages, so it was an evening where we limited the damage. Considering the pace of the car, it was the best we could get. We will have to work hard in the coming weeks to understand why we have struggled to compete with the front runners in recent races. We have not been competitive since the summer break and this is frustrating. We will work hard to solve the problem and hopefully the updates we will bring to the next race in Austin will help us take a step towards the front”.
Hamilton: Wrong choice
Even worse, however, things went to Lewis Hamilton. Penalized by the choice of the soft tyres at the starteven the future Ferrari driver was unable to contain Piastri’s attack, in addition to losing the top-5 to Leclerc. for a sixth position final commented with bitterness by the seven-time world champion, who celebrated his 350th career GP in Singapore: “It’s hard to describe the emotions you feel when you compete in such a difficult race. – added #44 – This year continues to be a testing season for everyone, but we are pushing hard. We don’t always manage to do things well and that was the case with our strategy.. We all go into the weekend, and every decision we make, with the right intentions and sometimes it doesn’t work out. It can be frustrating, but we’re all in this together. We’ve lost a bit of form to the leaders in the last few races and we’re working hard to understand why. We’ll do what we do best, which is come together as a team, analyze and focus ahead of Austin. We’ll go there with energy, grit and determination. It’s another opportunity to show what we can do when we do things right and hopefully make a step forward with the car.”
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