Mercedes Struggles in Singapore: Hamilton and Russell Face Challenges as Norris and Leclerc Lead the Pack

September 21st, 2024, 8:00 AM
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While Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc were battling for the fastest lap times on Friday, Mercedes fell short in Singapore. Drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell lamented a ‘difficult’ opening day at Marina Bay. The Silver Arrows – donned in green for the occasion – ‘tried everything’, but could only manage the seventh fastest time.

Defeated, Lewis Hamilton addressed the media on Friday. The seven-time world champion has won the Singapore GP four times, but with the current equipment, the Mercedes driver doesn’t seem to be heading for a victory. “It’s very difficult,” he admitted honestly. “It was a challenging day. We tried everything in terms of setup, but nothing seems to work. We really gave it our all, but then it turns out that you’re still more than a second slower.”

‘Lost Their Way’

“I think we’ve just lost our way a bit and don’t really know how to set up the car,” Hamilton concluded. “We’ve tried a lot, but the result remained the same.” George Russell also couldn’t get his Mercedes beyond the seventh spot in Singapore. The Brit lamented a ‘difficult Friday’ for the team.

“We’re really lagging behind in terms of pace,” he said. “We first need to understand why that is. Major changes have already been made between VT1 and VT2, but the car doesn’t feel nearly as good as in recent races. We’re trying to find out the cause of that.” After the first free practices in Singapore, Mercedes had to concede to Red Bull, while Hamilton was even outperformed by Alexander Albon and Nico Hülkenberg.

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