Source – The US Sun
In the Grand Prix in Singapore, both Mercedes drivers had a challenging and even “frustrating” race; George Russell finished fourth and Lewis Hamilton sixth. The Silver Arrows produced a solid qualifying run, locking up the second row of the grid, but things didn’t go as planned in the race.
The Singapore Grand Prix was a race of high expectations and tough realities for Mercedes, leaving both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell with a sense of frustration after a challenging weekend. Heading into the night race, Mercedes decided to gamble with a split strategy, a choice that would ultimately backfire as they battled not only their rivals but also their own decisions on the track.
George Russell began the race on the favored medium tires, a safer bet for long-term performance. Lewis Hamilton, however, took a more aggressive approach, starting on soft tires, hoping to gain an early advantage over Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, both ahead of him. Unfortunately, Hamilton’s gamble did not pay off. The soft tires failed to give him the desired jump at the start, leaving him unable to get ahead of either driver. Instead of gaining positions, Hamilton found himself needing an earlier-than-planned pit stop, switching to the hard tires and leaving him in a compromised position for the rest of the race.
To make matters worse, Hamilton’s softer compound had an unintended consequence early on, as he arguably slowed his teammate, Russell, during the opening stint. That set the tone for a race where Mercedes would struggle to get on top of their strategy. After the pit stop, Hamilton’s focus turned to tire management and recovery, but even with a solid drive, he eventually fell prey to Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, finishing a disappointing sixth.
For Russell, the race was a mixed bag of frustrations and small victories. Despite the split strategies, he managed to hold off a fast-charging Leclerc on the final lap, securing a fourth-place finish, the same position he started in. Reflecting on the race, Russell noted the difficulty of the weekend from the very start. A problematic Friday had set low expectations for Sunday’s race, but a strong qualifying performance briefly raised hopes of a better result. However, as Russell acknowledged, the pace of the McLarens, particularly Norris, was too much to handle.
“We had a really tough Friday, so we might have accepted P4 before the race,” Russell admitted. “But our qualifying pace made us believe we could do more. Unfortunately, today was a difficult one for us. The McLarens were on another level, and even Max had the upper hand. Holding off Charles at the end was really just about damage limitation.”
As the grueling 62-lap race unfolded, Russell’s fatigue became evident. The humidity and heat inside the cockpit, which he referred to as a “sauna,” took their toll. This was further compounded by the absence of a Safety Car—the first time in Singapore’s F1 history. That left drivers with no respite during the entire race, forcing them to stay sharp and push through one of the most physically demanding circuits on the calendar.
Hamilton, too, was visibly drained after battling his way through the midfield for much of the race. His earlier pit stop to ditch the soft tires left him on the back foot, and despite a spirited charge, he ultimately couldn’t claw his way into the top five. Speaking after the race, Hamilton didn’t hide his disappointment, acknowledging that Mercedes didn’t get everything right.
“It’s hard to describe the emotions after a race like that,” Hamilton said. “This year has been incredibly challenging for all of us. We’re pushing hard, but things haven’t always gone our way, and today the strategy just didn’t work. We’ve lost ground to the leaders in recent races, and we’re working tirelessly to understand why.”
While Mercedes had been in a promising position earlier in the season, winning three of the last four races before the summer break, the return to action has been far less kind. The team has managed just one podium in the four races since, with Russell’s third-place finish in Baku coming thanks to a late-race incident involving Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz. Since then, they’ve struggled to match the form of teams like Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren.
Team Principal Toto Wolff didn’t mince his words, calling the night in Singapore “painful” for Mercedes. Despite the disappointment, there is a glimmer of hope for the team, with upgrades planned for the upcoming race in Austin. However, in the immediate aftermath of another difficult weekend, that prospect offers little comfort.
For both Hamilton and Russell, the Singapore Grand Prix served as a reminder of how quickly fortunes can change in Formula 1. The team’s strategy missteps and the lack of pace compared to their rivals made it a night of damage limitation rather than a race to remember. As they now look ahead to Austin, the focus will be on bouncing back and finding the performance that has eluded them in recent weeks.
