While George Russell was gunning for the win during the Singapore Grand Prix, his race came to a premature end after he lost concentration on the final lap and crashed his Mercedes. After the race, he expressed nothing but dissapointment in himself.
After starting P2 in the race, George Russell lost the position to Charles Leclerc in the first lap. However, he was able to regain that position as Charles was held in the pits a bit longer due to traffic. During the second stint, he was behind Carlos Sainz who was leading the race. Although Sainz was managin his tires and going slower than expected, Russell was not able to overtake due to the narrow streets of Singapore.
On lap 44, a VSC prompted both the Mercedes cars to pit for fresh medium tires. They calculated that they will be able to overtake the leader by the end of the race. Both the cars were on track for this. However, on the last lap, Russell was trying to overtake Lando Norris for 2nd place when he crashed the car. After the race he said:
“No words to be honest. Such a long race, physical race. I think we were half a cars length away from winning the race had I got past Lando. I think we could have got past Carlos on the last lap, but a momentary lapse of concentration. I feel sorry for the team.”
“It’s heartbreaking to be standing here with no points”
George Russell reflects on those dramatic final laps at Marina Bay #F1 #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/Q9g2qKMH51
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 17, 2023
Throughout the race, George had a good chance to win the race. He was running P2 before he pit for the 2nd time. Theoritacally he would have been able to overtake the leader before the end of the race. But the strategy Carlos Sainz came up with helped Lando defend from the Mercedes cars.
How did George Russell crash in the last lap of the Singapore GP
The 2023 Singapore Grand Prix was the most entertaining race if the season so far. Red Bull had won every single race so far this season. However, they looked weak the entire weekend. In qualifying, boht the Red Bulls were eliminated in Q2. This allowed a 3-team battle for the lead of the race on Sunday.
During the 2nd stint, it was clear that George would not be able to overtake Sainz with the current strategy. This is why the team decided to pit both the cars when the VSC was deployed.
After changing his strategy, George Russell caught up with the leaders of the race by lap 58/62. However, Carlos Sainz decided to slow down a bit to give Lando Norris DRS to help him defend against George. Due to this, George was getting more and more desperate each lap.
Incredible last-lap drama as Russell, chasing P2, crashes out! 💥😵#F1 #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/tzPgXoy83q
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 17, 2023
On the final lap of the race, he was still behind Lando Norris. While he was approaching the entry of turn 10, he decided to go a bit wider for a better exit. However, he went too wide and clipped the wall on the right side. He went straight into the escape road and hit the tech-pro barriers.
He claimed that he had a momentary lapse of concentration at that second. In Formula 1, the drivers cannot afford to lose focus even for a second. This incident is a perfect example if that. There is no doubt that George would have had the pace to win if Carlos had not given Lando DRS.
