George Russell says his Mercedes workforce is not sure the place its tempo got here from on the Singapore Grand Prix after successful his second race of the season, and fifth general.
Mercedes gained in Canada again in June however had not been anticipated to be notably sturdy within the excessive temperatures of Singapore, the place Russell was over a minute behind race winner Lando Norris a 12 months in the past. However after qualifying on pole place, Russell managed the race to beat Max Verstappen by over 5 seconds, and says it makes up for a late crash on the identical venue in 2023.
“It feels wonderful, particularly after what occurred a few years in the past,” Russell stated. “That was a little bit of a missed alternative, however we greater than made up for it at present. Simply so grateful for the workforce. They did a tremendous job this complete weekend. We do not actually know the place this efficiency got here from, however actually comfortable.
“If I have been to make an inventory of all of the races I believed we might win at this 12 months, this might most likely be proper on the backside. So I feel we have to sit down tomorrow and Tuesday to form of perceive why the efficiency was so good. I hope we will carry this by means of to the remainder of the season, however I feel realistically, Lando seemed extremely quick. He was inside a second of Max the entire race. And round this circuit, that is not simple.”
Looking for solutions for the Mercedes efficiency, Russell did word some observe modifications in comparison with 12 months in the past.
“I feel there’s been much less tire overheating this 12 months in comparison with years passed by. I feel it’s a observe that previously had main overheating, however with a few of the corners having new tarmac, it’s a bit smoother,” he famous. “The tires appear somewhat bit extra sturdy this 12 months. It was all simply in a little bit of a nicer window, however however, it was nonetheless fairly a shock.”
Russell additionally believes the essential facet of the race got here off the road, with Purple Bull aggressively beginning on the tender tire – in comparison with the remainder of the highest seven on mediums – in an try to realize observe place early.
“I believed it was a sensible transfer from these guys as a result of if Max jumped me at Flip 1, to be sincere, I feel he would have gained the race, as a result of overtaking was so difficult.
“You noticed Lando was undoubtedly the quickest man on the market, and he simply couldn’t go Max. He was inside a second each single lap. If Lando couldn’t get previous, I doubt we might have been in a position to obtain it. So, it was essential that we nailed the beginning. It’s been a powerful level of mine this 12 months, so I’m glad we did.”
