Today we can confidently announce that on Sunday we will know the first winner who does not come from Red Bull. But who will be the lucky one? Ferrari holds the pole position, but George Russell from Mercedes is most confident of victory.
In qualifying, George Russell was the last to cross the finish line. However, it was not just the statistical end of Saturday’s races. The Briton shot into the stratosphere with his time and overtook even one of the Ferrari drivers.
Now he found himself in a red sandwich, as we also saw in Singapore in 2017 and we remember how infamously it turned out. However, George Russell does not plan to end this way. On Sunday, they will hunt for the first place.
“We can definitely win on Sunday,” he declared confidently George Russell. “The team is working really hard, we are gaining time for the good. We know that Ferrari is usually very fast in qualifying, which is especially true for urban circuits and the softer C5 compound. Red Bull has dropped out a bit and their loss is strange. However, I think that even on a normal weekend we would have finished in the top three. We would be in a great position to fight for the podium. This is how we fight for victory.”
After the first three practices, the fans remained skeptical and many were sure that Red Bull would shuffle the cards again at the front. Even in Mercedes, they do not hide the fact that they were taken by surprise. “Red Bull is a huge surprise. I don’t know what happened to them. Even their race pace didn’t seem to be exactly dazzling.”
Perhaps we did not expect such a weak result from Red Bull, but at the same time, neither did such a fast Mercedes. “To tell you the truth, we were expecting it,” counters Russell. “We knew that we tend to be better at circuits with high downforce. The car felt amazing all weekend. Since the summer break, I have the impression that I am quite used to the car. We built on great settings and worked well with the engineers.”
“Some say it’s my new haircut,” he lightened up on the press, amused Russellfrom which they struggle for a new cut in the paddock. “I don’t know you. I think it’s about working hard and enjoying it, having fun.”
The fun is just about to begin if Russell can get his second career win. Who will you have to watch out for? “I expect a battle with Ferrari, but we shouldn’t write off Lando either, he also had a good race pace, maybe even a little better than Ferrari.” However, everything will revolve around tire degradation and stops.”
“This weekend is a great opportunity to get a win. We opted for a different tire strategy than everyone else on the grid, we have two sets of mediums each, so we are the only team that can decide between one and two pit stops. Thanks to that, we have a great chance,” he pondered the racing prospects.
However, it is not easy to overtake in Singapore and on paper it does not seem that two stops could help Mercedes. If everyone else is betting on one pitstop, the Silver Arrows would be doomed to fall into the traffic, which can be very annoying here. On the other hand, the threat of a safety vehicle exit will hang over Marina Bay. If Bernd Mayländer appears on the track, it will be grist to Mercedes’ mill.
It would be best for Mercedes to direct the race from the front. Will he try to get to it right after the start? “I will definitely go for it, it would make our life a lot easier. I think we have a speed advantage over Ferrari in the race, but as I said, we also have a tactical advantage. That’s why I would be quite relaxed, even if we were in second or even third place in the first corner. We are the only team that can go to two pitstops. It looks pretty bad with the tire wear. I hope we can put them under pressure.”
2023-09-16 19:48:30
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