George Russell’s career at the Silver Arrows is yet to reach its peak potential. Nonetheless, his steady rise from petty ranks can be traced back to a fortunate weekend in the Mercedes beast powertrain. Russell was an underdog who rose quite unexpectedly to the occasion and since then, he has been an project that Toto has been trying to build upon. It is befitting the results are far from satisfactory yet but his humility and determination might take him far.
Russell admitted the fact that even though his team being so strong this time, he could not deliver the performance they expected from him but ensured the audience that he would come in a much stronger form next time.
George Russell crashes at Singapore GP
A final lap mistake from George Russell in the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix caused him to hit the wall while hunting down the race leaders and speared into the barriers.
Running a strong P2 after jumping Charles Leclerc in the first round of pit stops, Russell and Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton had bolted on a fresh set of mediums with 18 laps to go at Marina Bay, before charging after race leader Carlos Sainz, the McLaren of Lando Norris and the second Ferrari of Leclerc.
With Leclerc dispatched, the final lap saw Sainz, Norris, Russell and Hamilton separated by just metres, all four with a chance of claiming the win. As the pack charged down to Turn 10, Norris appeared to clip the outside wall with his right-rear tire, only for Russell to hit it even harder, sending the Briton into the barriers, as Carlos Sainz won the event.
George Russell’s statement after crash in Singapore GP
After the race, Russell expressed how disheartened he was feeling from his own performance by saying “I’m lost for words to be honest. I think we were half a car’s length away from winning the race, had we been able to overtake Lando when I had that one opportunity.”
“And then that last lap, I don’t know what the hell happened there. Whether it was a lack of concentration, maybe frustration knowing that that was our opportunity gone, a mistake of one or two centimetres has just put such a shadow over the whole weekend – one which would have been an amazing weekend.” he added.
Furthermore, he added “The team did an amazing job, the car was great, the strategy was bang on, we were aggressive, we were bold and it was exciting, it was really exciting out there and it’s heartbreaking to be standing here with no points. It sums up the season I’ve been having this year.”
Do you think Russell would be able to gain his confidence in the upcoming races next time? Please share your opinions in the comments below!
