George Russell 'down' but Toto Wolff is aiming to cheer Mercedes driver up

Singapore Grand Prix 2023 — Photo: © LAT Images

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Russell ‘DOWN’ after Singapore as Wolff reveals how he cheered Mercedes driver up

Russell had a podium all but nailed on until last lap crash

Cal Gaunt

Tuesday 19 September 2023 13:57

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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has revealed how George Russell was left devastated after his final lap disaster at the Singapore Grand Prix, but that he is making sure he can bounce back in the best possible fashion.

It looked for all the world like Russell was, at the very least, going to finish on the podium, hunting down McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz on a fresh set of medium tyres late on.

But dreams of victory - or a podium, for that matter - were dashed as the race reached its climax, with Russell clipping an outside wall at Turn 10 which sent him hurtling into the barriers.

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This wasn’t complete Mercedes unravelling - with Lewis Hamilton eventually taking P3 behind Norris and Sainz - but Russell couldn’t hide his disappointment with a robust assessment of his own driving over team radio.

As the dust settled, Wolff told Sky Germany that it was his job now to put an arm around his heartbroken star and support him in his time of self-doubt.

Russell was in a commanding position until his last-lap crash

Victory not possible for Mercedes

He said: “He is totally down. The race was suddenly over for him but when we spoke, I told him that he fought and pushed until the end.

“Towards the end, it was all about third place and not the win anymore and we just need to leave this one on the track.”

On whether it would have been better to stay out rather than pit and chase victory, Wolff said: “We did not see the pace Carlos had but he managed everything so well.

“It was top tier. I think we wouldn’t have been able to overtake him and if we tried, we would have collided.”

Wolff was also asked if he had considered swapping Russell and Hamilton, with Hamilton looking quicker in the final stages.

“In the beginning, George was stronger than Lewis but you can’t just swap them both. We wanted to see what happens," he added.