George Russell says his Mercedes workforce is not sure the place its tempo got here from on the Singapore Grand Prix after profitable his second race of the season, and fifth total.
Mercedes received in Canada again in June however had not been anticipated to be notably robust within the excessive temperatures of Singapore, the place Russell was over a minute behind race winner Lando Norris a yr 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 superb, 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 as we speak. Simply so grateful for the workforce. They did an incredible job this entire weekend. We do not actually know the place this efficiency got here from, however actually completely happy.
“If I had been to make an inventory of all of the races I assumed we might win at this yr, this is able to most likely be proper on the backside. So I believe we have to sit down tomorrow and Tuesday to kind of perceive why the efficiency was so good. I hope we are able to carry this by means of to the remainder of the season, however I believe realistically, Lando appeared 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 notice some observe adjustments in comparison with 12 months in the past.
“I believe there’s been much less tire overheating this yr in comparison with years passed by. I believe it’s a observe that previously had main overheating, however with among the corners having new tarmac, it’s a bit smoother,” he famous. “The tires appear a bit of bit extra strong this yr. It was all simply in a little bit of a nicer window, however nonetheless, it was nonetheless fairly a shock.”
Russell additionally believes the essential facet of the race got here off the road, with Crimson Bull aggressively beginning on the comfortable tire – in comparison with the remainder of the highest seven on mediums – in an try to realize observe place early.
“I assumed it was a wise transfer from these guys as a result of if Max jumped me at Flip 1, to be trustworthy, I believe he would have received the race, as a result of overtaking was so difficult.
“You noticed Lando was positively 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 capable of obtain it. So, it was essential that we nailed the beginning. It’s been a powerful level of mine this yr, so I’m glad we did.”
