MARINA BAY STREET CIRCUIT, SINGAPORE — George Russell has described his final-lap crash as "the most horrendous feeling in the world" but joined Charles Leclerc in hailing the performance of Carlos Sainz on Sunday evening.
Sainz led the Singapore Grand Prix from start to finish, expertly controlling proceedings to take the second race victory of his career. After qualifying on pole, the Spaniard held off teammate Leclerc, Russell, Max Verstappen and eventually Lando Norris on the spectacular but sweltering streets downtown.
Ferrari's in-form man managed his tyres superbly and late on allowed Norris within range to collect DRS, which the Briton was then able to use against compatriots Russell in P3 and Lewis Hamilton in P4 — both on fresher tyres after a late pit under a virtual safety car — to further help Sainz's cause.
In the final knockings, Hamilton ultimately took a spot on the podium after Mercedes teammate Russell clipped a wall and crashed. Reflecting on his nightmare end to an otherwise impressive weekend, the 25-year-old said in the paddock: "A very strange race, with Carlos managing the pace for the whole duration.
"It’s such a different dynamic. It’s so hot as well, being so close to the car ahead. It’s quite difficult to keep concentration because we were driving 1.5 seconds off the pace.
"It was only natural for him to do that with the tyre advantage — if he went any faster, it would’ve given us the opportunity. We got fortunate with the safety car, and that was when the race turned on its head, got really exciting.
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"But again, Carlos did a great job to manage the gap with the DRS with Lando. It was very smart. I had half a chance with Lando — half a car’s length different and we’d have won the race, because I’d have got ahead of Lando and Carlos would’ve been stuck with no DRS.
"I would’ve flown by him. Instead, we end the race in the wall. I have no idea what happened — probably frustration, knowing that was the last lap and the opportunity was gone.
"A one-centimetre mistake has clouded the whole weekend. In the moment, you just want to curl up in a ball and be with nobody. It’s the most horrendous feeling in the world when you’re so physically drained, mentally drained. To make such a mistake is truly heartbreaking.
"I truly feel like I’m driving better than I’ve ever driven. I felt confident, I felt comfortable. I’ll have a tough night, a tough morning, but I’ll then put it behind me. I can only apologise to the team because they deserve more. S*** happens.
"It’s such a nothing mistake. If I span off or had a lockup, I’d be feeling very different. To clip the wall is such a pathetic mistake. It’s a lack of concentration. It goes to show you just need to stay on it. It doesn’t matter what the scenario is.
"It’s incredible how quickly the mind thinks. I saw Lando brush the wall. In that split-second I thought it and two-tenths of a second later I hit the wall. I was knackered at the end of the race. I put everything on the line there.
"I’m generally not a driver that makes stupid mistakes — I don’t crash that often. But over the years I’ve made some very, very simple mistakes that have had huge consequences. It’s something I need to review. I feel like it’s not me.
"These mistakes won’t happen in the fight for a championship — I assure you that."
Verstappen: Safety car timing cost Red Bull
If Russell is to be competing for a world title in the near future, it will almost surely come against Verstappen. Red Bull's sheer dominance of the first 14 races of the year was finally halted by Sainz, but the Dutchman still showed his prowess with an impressive comeback on Sunday.
He exited qualifying in the second session a day prior, taking the 11th spot on the grid. The reigning champion and runaway leader rose six places in the Grand Prix, though, to finish P5.
Had a safety car not come so early in the race, in which both he and teammate Sergio Perez started on hard tyres, Verstappen believes he'd have had a shot at extending his all-time Formula 1 record of 10 straight victories.
The back-to-back king of F1 said: "I think everything went against us with the safety cars. I said, ’s***! It’s exactly the wrong time.’ If the safety cars had worked more in our favour, I would’ve been fighting with the guys because I think that last stint was quite easy.
"Today was better. We were unlucky during the race, but clearly we learned quite a bit. We can only show next year if it’s better or not.
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"[The problems of Saturday] were still there a bit, to a lesser extent. Our car is always better in the race. I had good pace. I was quite happy. We have a few ideas [on what the car setup issues were], but I cannot go into details."
Verstappen also revealed why he was uncharacteristically quiet on the radio, despite watching his record come to an end: "There was a lot going on, keeping the car under control.
"Also with the strategy, you don’t want to make any mistakes. Half a second here and there can make the difference at the end of the race when you’re in that pack.
"I knew that this day would come, so for me it’s absolutely fine. Everything needs to be perfect [to win a race]. Everyone is always saying ‘ah, look how dominant they are, look how easy it is’. But it’s not easy. There’s always a lot of details you need to get right, and clearly this weekend we didn’t."
Leclerc: Sainz at ease with Ferrari, I need to catch up
While Sainz has produced back-to-back pole positions, a podium and a race win this month, his Ferrari teammate has slightly struggled. Leclerc spoke in the paddock on Thursday of his enthusiasm around the Scuderia's learnings at Monza, but he is clearly finding his own feet in the car.
Leclerc began the Grand Prix on soft tyres, an alternate strategy to Sainz, but even after getting into P2 after an excellent start, was asked to remain up to five seconds behind his teammate.
The Monegasque faltered in the late stages of the race following the virtual safety car, with Mercedes taking advantage of Leclerc being unable to pit. Reflecting on his strategy and performance, the 25-year-old said: "Honestly, this wasn’t the plan. That’s why I went on the softs.
"I changed my mind very last minute, just to make sure I was in front of George on the first stint. Then it was really clear that it was beneficial for Carlos, because obviously he was making the gap.
"Unfortunately, I haven’t been very lucky with the safety car. That meant I had to wait inside the pits for traffic. There, I basically lost the race. The win was the priority today, and we did really good race management with the team.
"At the end on the radio, they told me to do the opposite to Lewis in front. Lewis went for the pits, so I had to stay out. Whether I went in or stayed out, it would’ve been very similar, not a game-changer.
"Carlos in Monza and here has been completely on it, very strong. It’s great to have him in such form because that pushes me also to understand a bit more my driving style.
"I’m not completely comfortable with the car at the moment, a bit too much understeer, so there is a bit of work to do. It’s great to see the competitiveness seems to be up there, that Carlos feels at ease. Now it’s up to me to try and catch up.
"It means a lot [for Ferrari], especially in a year like this that has been so difficult. It’s a really good step forward in Monza, even more so here. It feels good for everyone in the team."
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