George Russell finds one silver lining after ‘annoying’ Singapore GP crash

George Russell apologised to his team for crashing out of FP2 in Singapore, but added his off was “better today than tomorrow” in qualifying.

The Mercedes driver lost traction in the braking zone for Turn 16, with a snap of oversteer putting him off-kilter, before locking up and hitting the barrier, prompting the first red flag of two in Friday’s FP2 session.

George Russell reacts to ‘weird’ Singapore GP crash

Russell was still travelling at significant speed when going towards the barriers, taking his hands off the steering wheel to brace for impact in his collision.

Having managed to angle the car to the front, he was able to bring his W16 back to the pit lane – albeit minus a front wing and with a puncture – but he acknowledged it was “game over” for the day from there.

With another practice session to come before qualifying on Saturday, the Briton looked on the bright side with the rest of the weekend ahead.

“It’s a bit of a weird one, to be honest,” Russell said after climbing out of his car.

“I’m not too sure what happened. Braked a bit earlier, went in a little bit slower, but then just lost the rear – but thankfully, sort of went in front end on and didn’t do too much damage. But obviously, [it was] game over.

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“So yeah, [it was a] bit annoying, sorry to the team for that, but better today than tomorrow.”

With Mercedes having navigated much of first practice on medium tyres rather than using the soft, Russell and Kimi Antonelli finishing FP1 11th and 14th respectively.

Having been unable to complete FP2 after his crash, Russell explained he is unfazed by the challenge ahead, given the ever-changing nature of Singapore.

“FP1 was challenging, but in those early laps I had a much better feel with the car, to be honest, and the pace seemed better,” he said.

“We didn’t complete any any lap, so there was no sort of real lap time on the board, but at least the laps, if we took the sectors together, felt better.

“As I said, it’s not been our best Friday by a long way, but Singapore, the track’s always evolving. There’s a bit of rain in the air, so I’m not too concerned.”

With the FIA running its first-ever Heat Hazard event in Singapore, drivers are being instructed to wear cooling vests in every session this weekend, though the Briton admitted his was not quite in an optimal setup on Friday.

“Well, I couldn’t get ours working in FP2,” Russell said with a smile. “So I had the vest on, but it wasn’t working. But as I said, it was a bit of an early bath for me. So, onto tomorrow.”

Read next: Singapore GP: Piastri tops crash-strewn FP2 as Norris, Leclerc crash in the pits and Russell at T16