Russell gives two-word radio message to Mercedes after pit stop

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

George Russell vented his frustration after Mercedes failed with a tyre gamble to help propel him up the order after a disastrous Singapore Grand Prix weekend. The Briton started from the back of the grid after taking a penalty for changing his power unit and things went from bad to worse after pitting for slick tyres on a slippery surface at the Marina Bay street circuit.

Russell had made his way up to P16 but was stuck behind his predecessor Valtteri Bottas in the Alfa Romeo and was facing a long race out of the points unless he tried something different.

With other cars reluctant to pit for normal tyres, the Silver Arrows driver risked it all to try and gain an advantage. But as he and his team soon found out, the conditions were not ideal for the medium tyre as he slipped and slid around the circuit.

“No grip,” Russell said despondently to his race engineer as his rear tyres spun aimlessly while he desperately tried to keep his car out of the barrier.

At one stage, Russell found himself three seconds slower than Sergio Perez in the first sector alone as he struggled to get temperature into the tyres. And the 24-year-old’s frustrations were evident as he radioed in once again after refusing to pit again, as he would have lost around 25 seconds to his rivals if he came in for another stop.

“They (mediums) will come in but I am five seconds off the pace,” Russell said.

It was seen as a move by Mercedes to use Russell as a guinea pig for Lewis Hamilton, who in third had a decent chance of winning the race. But as the gamble backfired, it proved to be a double blow for the team as Hamilton became stuck behind Carlos Sainz of Ferrari.

There was some relief for Russell later in the race, however. After seeing himself fall some 51 seconds behind his nearest challenger Nicholas Latifi, his tyres finally appeared to find some grip on the track and his pace improved by lap 35.

He would benefit from the flurry of pit stops in front of him too as drivers finally ditched the intermediate tyres as the track began to dry up.

Russell’s misery was compounded when the safety car came back out later on in the race when Yuki Tsunoda crashed into the barrier, allowing the other drivers to get a free stop while he caught up to the back of the pack.

And on the restart, the former Williams driver was in familiar territory at the back of the grid in P14 after six drivers had retired.

Source: Read Full Article