While Calling His Car ‘Slow’, Lewis Hamilton Hopes George Russell to Break Red Bull’s Win Spree After Locking First Row Start

Sabyasachi Biswas | 17/09/2023
While Calling His Car ‘Slow’, Lewis Hamilton Hopes George Russell to Break Red Bull’s Win Spree After Locking First Row Start

Mercedes had a fine outing at the Marina Bay Circuit on Saturday as George Russell locked the front row alongside Carlos Sainz of Ferrari. On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton was able to manage P5 in Q3, but following this, the British veteran driver went on to call his car slow as compared to his teammate’s W14. Nevertheless, he is hopeful of Russell stepping up to end Red Bull’s winning streak, as per a report on Reddit.

Red Bull had a disastrous performance during the Singapore GP qualification. Both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez went out in Q2 as they managed P11 and P13 for Sunday’s race, respectively. This, puts them in a very difficult position, arguably away from any chance at extending their winning streak.

As the Austrian team is quite a long way back, Ferrari and Mercedes can use this opportunity to finally have a win. If they win, this will be the second time a team has won a Grand Prix after the 2022 Austrian GP.

Lewis Hamilton wishes Russell to win the Singapore GP race

Team Mercedes have been exceptionally well both on Friday and Saturday of the Marina Bay Circuit race weekend. Sainz, who took the pole position for Sunday’s race specifically praised the Silver Arrows for their pace during the post-qualification press conference.

Thus, there could be no better chance for Russell to snatch a win this season. Even his teammate Hamilton is also rooting for him. Talking about this, he said, “Made big changes overnight and, it’s just went away from me again. I was just so slow today. I hope George gets a great start tomorrow. It would be great for him to get a win.”

Admittedly, Red Bull also has little chance of coming back from that far behind to challenge George Russell for a win. Given that Verstappen is starting from P11 and this is a street circuit, chances are slim.

Mercedes can’t ask for a better platform amid Verstappen’s downfall

The 2023 Singapore Grand Prix saw a one-of-a-kind Red Bull performance. A team that has a 15-race winning streak failed to have both their cars in Q3 for the first time since 2018. The pain didn’t end for Verstappen here as he also was reprimanded for impedance.

On the other hand, Sergio Perez, who had a difficult mid-stint throughout the season, recovered quite well. However, the Singapore GP qualification also saw him qualify far behind in P13.

All in all, Mercedes and Ferrari can’t ask for a better situation to take a win from Red Bull this season. Therefore, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top.

Post Edited By: Shreya Sanjeev
carlos sainz George Russell Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen

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Sabyasachi Biswas

Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 journalist at The SportsRush. With over one and a half decades of love for the sport and five years of experience in the field, he dreams to be a regular at the paddock when the lights go out. A Red Bull fan and F1 fan in general over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, and Max Verstappen dominate the track. Apart from F1, he's also a big-time Madridista and Federer fanatic. He was a sub-junior level footballer, won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak throughout, he tries different cuisines and learns new cultures whenever he's away from the keyboard.

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