P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Russell: Mercedes in "exciting place" with Singapore F1 tyre "advantage"
British driver George Russell produced an impressive performance in qualifying at the Marina Bay circuit, narrowly beating Charles Leclerc to start in second place behind polesitter Carlos Sainz. Despite Ferrari dominating practice sessions, Red Bull struggled and failed to reach Q3 with both cars, potentially jeopardizing their perfect win record in 2023. Russell believes Mercedes has a good chance of winning due to their strategic advantage with tyre strategy. He expressed satisfaction with his overall performance and confidence in the car. Russell highlighted the team’s offset strategy, with an extra set of medium tyres, which no other team has, giving them an exciting position for the race. Both Russell and Sainz acknowledged the weakness of Ferrari’s race pace, but Sainz believed they have made progress and could still aim for the win if he focuses on his own race. Lewis Hamilton, in the second Mercedes, finished fifth behind McLaren’s Lando Norris after a challenging qualifying session that was delayed by a crash and resulted in intense heat conditions.
Source: motorsport
