Mercedes Drivers Hamilton and Russell Skip Media Duties Due to Heat Exhaustion Post Singapore Grand Prix

"Harboring no ill will" – Mercedes clarifies the absence of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell from press obligations.

Toto Wolff sheds light on the reason behind Lewis Hamilton and George Russell being excused from their media commitments following the race.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has stated that Lewis Hamilton and George Russell had to skip their Formula 1 media obligations following the Singapore Grand Prix because they were experiencing symptoms akin to heatstroke.

Russel secured a fourth-place finish in Singapore, outperforming his teammate, the seven-time world champion Hamilton, by two positions. Hamilton expressed dissatisfaction with Mercedes' tactical approach.

Beginning the race from the third position on soft tyres, Hamilton had to pit early, which resulted in him having to navigate the latter part of the race on older hard tyres. This situation led to him falling behind both Russell and his soon-to-be teammate at Ferrari, Charles Leclerc. The 39-year-old British driver expressed his frustration with his team's strategy loudly, voicing over the team radio that Mercedes' decision-making was severely disadvantaging him.

Mercedes team leader Wolff made it clear that there were no hard feelings or irritation, clarifying that his drivers were just too unwell to participate in their scheduled media sessions due to the harsh conditions they endured.

"Wolff mentioned to PA that they were feeling quite unwell, possibly on the verge of a heatstroke or similarly serious condition, but they had consumed water."

"They wouldn't have managed to make it to the press area. There was no ill will or irritation involved. The reason was simply that they were accompanied by their medical team. However, everyone is fine."

A spokesperson for Mercedes announced: "Regrettably, both George and Lewis are unable to participate in tonight's media session due to the need to recuperate from the strain of today's race."

Wolff acknowledged that choosing to begin the race with Hamilton on soft tires was, in hindsight, a mistake.

"We made our choice referencing past Singapore races, which typically follow a single-file pattern, similar to Monaco, believing that the soft tyre would offer him a chance at the beginning," he elaborated.

Essentially, that was the sole chance for a pass. Regrettably, it was a collective misjudgment we all made.

The strategy seemed promising at first, but given the degradation of the rear tire, we found ourselves only moving in reverse. While there was reasoning behind our decision, in hindsight, it clearly was not the right choice. However, this shouldn't distract from the reality that our vehicle's speed is lacking.

The evening was quite agonizing. Viewing the outcomes, landing in fourth and sixth places isn't ideal, particularly when you initially kicked off in third and fourth positions.

Currently, we're facing difficulties with the vehicle on circuits that present high temperatures and demand a lot on grip, specifically in this location and Baku. However, we're not using this as a justification.

"Currently, it's simply not meeting our expectations because when your fastest car trails the leader by a minute, it's hard to come to terms with."

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