Heart-in-mouth ending
The final lap of the Singapore Grand Prix it was experienced with high tension by a good part of Formula 1 fans, thanks to a four-way fight that could have revolutionized the finishing order of the night race at Marina Bay. With fifteen laps to go, the Race Direction has in fact imposed the regime Virtual Safety Car following the withdrawal of Esteban Ocon, stopped due to a technical problem in the first sector. Russell, at that moment 2nd behind Sainz, thus followed a courageous indication from the team Mercedes addressed to its two pilots: return to the pits to fit the medium tyres to push hard in the final laps of the race, with a high chance of victory after the #63 recovered from Norris and Sainz, who remained on the track with more worn hard tyres.
Russell’s mistake and Hamilton’s podium
A strategy that was therefore proving the Brackley team right, with Russell actually arriving in Norris’ exhaust and ready to make the overtaking that would have led him to replicate, with a good probability, the same maneuver on Sainz. Too bad that, right on the last lap, the Englishman has touched the wall in an attempt to complete the attack on the McLaren driver at the exit of turn 10, subsequently ending up against the guards. A victory therefore vanished, with Mercedes who can only console themselves with the 3rd place for Lewis Hamilton.
Wolff supports Russell
The success would have allowed the Anglo-German company to become the first team to win a GP in 2023 after the undisputed dominance of Red Bull, which was instead interrupted by Sainz’s Ferrari. A regret that applies as much to Russell as to Toto WolffMercedes Team Principal: “Lewis drove a brilliant race and did a great job to get on the podium – commented a Sky Sports F1 – of course it was a shame for George in the end. It was a small mistake after a very intense weekend, but that’s racing: today he did 99.99% right. It was clear that it would have been difficult to win the race if we had followed the others’ strategy. We were aggressive and took the opportunity to fit the medium tire under the Virtual Safety Car. The data was solid and we chose to do it. In the end, getting on the podium was fantastic and we were very close to doing much more. Overall, the feeling is that we are continuing to make progress with the W14. We’ve had a very fast car all weekend, so let’s see how we fare in Suzuka. For George it was just an unlucky moment, he touched the wall and it was a fraction of a second error that put an end to a great race, it’s a shame because he deserved much more. The pilot is devastated at such a moment, and I will stay by his side“.
The joy of the podium
Carlos Sainz’s victory and Charles Leclerc’s 4th place allowed Ferrari to recover 22 points over Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championshipwith the three-pointed star maintaining second position also thanks to Hamilton’s podium: “This weekend we rolled the dice and opted for an offset tire strategy – explained the seven-time world champion – today it felt like the race was a two-stop race and the team did an extraordinary job to bring us back to the top. Having to give up two positions at the first corner was a shame, but I kept my head down and kept pushing. Overall, I didn’t feel fully comfortable with the car this weekend. Today, however, the situation was better. If I had had the same feeling yesterday, I think I could have fought for the front row. This may have changed my race today, but I’m still happy to be on the podium. It was extremely unfortunate what happened to George. We were pushing hard to catch up to the guys in front of us and our tires were very hot. He’s been phenomenal all weekend and I know he’ll bounce back. Now let’s look at Japan and see what we can do.”
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