George Russell admits Mercedes is “not glad” with its efficiency after Dash race error compounds distress in System 1 Singapore Grand Prix qualifying.
Russell’s afternoon on the Marina Bay Avenue Circuit went sideways fairly rapidly after he took the Dash race lead from Max Verstappen at first.
On the very subsequent lap, the treacherous situations caught the Mercedes driver out as he crashed into the limitations on the principle straight.
Heading into qualifying, this, as Russell places it, compromised the W17’s steadiness and competitiveness in comparison with its Friday prowess.
“Yeah, clearly a really dangerous day all in all and stemming from my very own mistake,” he mentioned.
“The target of the quali was to verify the automobile was feeling the identical because it did yesterday.
“For no matter cause it wasn’t, which isn’t generally a shock when the entire crew are placing it again collectively.
“It’s clearly been within the wall, however yesterday we have been aggressive each lap we did and in the present day was not the case.”
Russell is operating an older-spec W17 in comparison with his team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who has the Sepang upgrades bolted onto his automobile.
And whereas the Italian was quicker out on observe than Russell, the Briton revealed Mercedes remains to be not “glad” with the optimisation of its package deal.
“I imply it was optimistic to see Kimi extra aggressive in the present day than yesterday,” he added.
“Nonetheless, we weren’t precisely lighting the timing display screen on fireplace. As a crew we’re nonetheless not glad with the place we’re with the brand new package deal.
“I believe we have to make some changes to compensate these adjustments so possibly we are able to discover a solution to make it work and be quick.”
George Russell braces Mercedes for “difficult” F1 Singapore GP
Russell’s retirement on the Bahrain GP in Malaysia final weekend meant Mercedes needed to pressure an engine penalty on the Briton for the race on Sunday.
This implies Russell will begin the Singapore GP from the very again of the grid, one thing he believes will likely be a difficult affair given how tough it’s to overhaul at this observe.
“It’s going to be very difficult,” Russell admitted.
“Kimi had one race beginning in nineteenth and received [and] one other race in sixteenth and was solely as much as P10 with 10 laps remaining.
“Identical driver, identical automobile, however very totally different outcomes. So, can’t reply your query, I actually don’t know.”
That mentioned, Russell is anticipating at the least a push into the highest 10 on the chequered flag. Nonetheless, he’s cautious of the W17’s limitations, particularly within the context of his miseries throughout qualifying.
“I used to be scuffling with the rear finish and I used to be overheating the tyres and it was only a little bit of a downward spiral,” he concluded.
“Whereas yesterday all of it simply clicked and it was all working nicely, so we have to see why that was.”
Russell received at Singapore final outing and would hope his affinity for the streets of Singapore helps rating a good end for Mercedes on Sunday.
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