Carlos Sainz led a ‘Carlando’ 1-2 finish at the Singapore GP. In an ideal world, where the Marina Bay Circuit wouldn’t have had a Turn 10, George Russell would’ve been next to Sainz and Lando Norris on that podium. But in the real world, Russell clipped the wall at Turn 10 and ended his fascinating charge in the barriers. Unlucky for him but extremely lucky for Lewis Hamilton. As he watched his teammate bin it on the last lap, the seven-time champion assumed P3 and secured his record-extending 196th career podium.

With best friends Sainz and Norris on the podium, the celebrations were destined to be a party. While Ferrari and McLaren came to cheer their heroes after their exploits, Mercedes was nowhere in sight. This left Hamiton all alone. Maybe that’s why he decided to throw caution to the wind and call Mercedes out for its weaknesses.

Mercedes has things to sort out after Hamilton’s Singapore struggles

The Singapore GP is one of Hamilton’s favorite race weekends. He’s the only driver to have participated in every edition of the race. In his 14 outings here, he has never qualified outside the top five. A top-five start on a street circuit comes with almost a guarantee of a good points haul. It’s no surprise then that Hamilton, with his qualifying prowess and racecraft, has almost always extracted a commendable result here. 2023 was no different. Despite struggling to get a handle on his W14 the entire weekend, he managed a podium—albeit a lucky one. 

Talking to the media after the race, he said, “Ultimately, it wasn’t that great a weekend, but the team did a fantastic job with the strategy. I just made it really difficult for myself with a poor performance yesterday. But exciting at the end for us as a team.” With an actual sniff at a victory after so long, Hamilton was pleased with Mercedes’ pace. He couldn’t help but point out a few things to work on, though. “Qualifying is a big weakness for me, and making lots of changes with the car,” said Hamilton. He’s one of the best qualifiers on the grid. So him saying that Saturdays have been particularly difficult for him is a surprise. 

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The Brit continued, “We made a big change yesterday, and it was like learning a whole new car again. It wasn’t particularly enjoyable to drive, but it was good today. Once I get my qualifying sorted, we’ll be good.” As he reflected on his race and lucky podium, he couldn’t help but sympathize with his teammate, courtesy of whom he got that podium.

Lewis Hamilton has full faith in George Russell

For almost the entirety of the race, Russell was stuck in P2 behind Sainz. He knew he had the pace to go for the win, though. So when the opportunity presented itself, Mercedes took it. During a Virtual Safety Car on Lap 45 of 62, Mercedes pitted both its drivers for fresh medium tires. Even though they had a 16-second gap between themselves and Norris in P2, they made it up with five laps to go. Despite having the pace advantage, Russell couldn’t overtake Norris. 

On the final lap, just when he’d accepted that a P2 wouldn’t be possible, he clipped the wall on Turn 10 and ended his race in the barriers. From fighting for a possible victory to settling for the barriers, it was absolute heartbreak for the Brit. After the race, Hamilton shared a post on Instagram. He wrote, “Every weekend, we fight together as a team, and it’s always a tough battle. First, huge props to George. He had an amazing drive all weekend and deserved to be on the podium. Unfortunate for him not to finish, but he will bounce back.”

With George Russell leading the head-to-head qualifying battle against Lewis Hamilton eight-to-seven, who’ll come out on top in 2023?

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