Lewis Hamilton is confident that George Russell will “bounce back” at the Japanese Grand Prix next week, after the 25-year-old crashed out of third on the final lap of the Singapore Grand Prix.
Sunday’s race at the Marina Bay Circuit was an incredibly strategic one, as everyone was working tirelessly to preserve their tyres.
Starting from fifth, a podium was expected to be a challenge for Hamilton, who had gotten himself into third on the opening lap, only to be asked to allow Russell and Lando Norris past.
Hamilton overtook both off the circuit and was therefore asked to give up the two places to avoid a time penalty.
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Once the seven-time World Champion did that, he remained in fifth, whilst Russell sat in third.
A Safety Car mid-race allowed Mercedes to double stack, something which saw Russell jump Charles Leclerc and inherit second.
Hamilton also overtook Leclerc, putting him in a net fourth place.
The 103-time race winner showed excellent pace, especially when the Silver Arrows went for a gamble and pitted both drivers again under a VSC.
He was the fastest driver in the closing stages but wasn’t able to contest for the win, after being unable to overtake Russell.
Had the 38-year-old found a way past, then perhaps he would’ve gone on to overtake Norris and race winner Carlos Sainz.
Hamilton would’ve finished fourth behind Russell in P3 had the ex-Williams driver not crashed at Turn 10 on the final lap.
Russell was pushing Norris for second but clipped the wall at Turn 10, sending him directly into the barriers.
Hamilton was on hand to inherit third but was quick to recognise Russell’s “phenomenal” pace in Singapore.
“Firstly, congratulations to Carlos and Lando they did a great job today, their strategy worked,” Hamilton started by saying in his post-race interview.
“We rolled the dice this weekend and went with a different amount of tyres into qualifying to have the option of what we did today.
“I felt it was a two-stop but I think the team did an amazing job to get us back up there.
“It was a real shame the first corner but I kept my head down and kept pushing.
“Extremely unfortunate for George, we were pushing so hard to catch these guys and our tyres were so hot.
“I know he will bounce back. He’s been phenomenal all weekend.”
All of the drivers were visibly exhausted after the most demanding race of the campaign, due to the high heat and humidity.
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The four-way fight for the win made it that much harder, although Hamilton was quick to note that it’s “how it should be”.
“This is how it should be,” asserted Hamilton, when discussing how hard the race was due to the heat.
“It’s incredibly hot, I think I only lost two kilos today so that’s not so bad.”