There Mercedes exits from Singapore Grand Prix with an overall disappointing result, contrary to the positive expectations that were generated on the eve after the 3rd place of Lewis Hamilton in qualifying. Already in the hours before the race, delayed by an hour due to the rain that hit the Marina Bay circuit, the team had to deal with relegation to the bottom of the group of George Russellforced to power unit change and therefore penalized. At the same time, the hopes for the seven-time world champion were shattered after the mistake made by the number 44 in the race, protagonist of a impact against barriers who did not however compromise his GP, closed in any case outside the podium area in ninth position.
Furthermore, Russell was the first rider ever to attempt the gamble of switching from intermediate to medium tires, with a move that proved too early and the main cause of the 14th place final, with Mercedes also losing ground to Ferrari for the race to the second position in the constructors’ standings. As if that were not enough, the number 63 was then involved in a contact with Mick Schumacher, who did nothing but worsen his ranking situation.
A championship that, at least until now, has not yet granted a moment of full joy to the reigning world champion team and its team principal Toto Wolffwho commented on the outcome of the race one week before the next appointment scheduled in Suzuka, Japan: “This season has given us several difficult lessonsand today it was another one – He admitted – we started from opposite ends of the grid with our two cars, but were unable to capitalize on the race pace with either of them when it came to achieving a final result. Lewis fought for the podium for much of the race, but he also fought against a balance of the car that today was on the razor’s edge, in difficult conditions and on uneven ground. After blocking and damaging the wing, the stop to change the tires and the nose cost him a position, then he lost even more when the cars ahead of him went out under Safety Car and took the lead. This left him stuck in a train of cars with tires of very similar age and he was unable to catch up. For George, we threw the dry tire nut when he was short on points: in hindsight, it was clearly too early, but he had nothing to lose, so we were ready to take the risk. However, during the course of the race, he was still in the running to get back in points until he collided with Mick, which made him finish last on the road. The biggest frustration today is that we have not been able to exploit the signs of competitiveness we have seen in PL2 and qualifying. With this result, our fight for P2 has become much more difficult, but the only thing to do is to recover and concentrate on the next Suzuka race to regain momentum ”.
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