Mercedes and Russell made mistake: 'Stark picture of where problem lay'

George Russell started the Singapore Grand Prix on the back foot due to replacing his engine. Moreover, during the race, Mercedes brought him in too early for the medium tyre, causing him to lose a lot of time on the other drivers. However, according to Mark Hughes, this moment was key in the race.

Indeed, drivers had to deal with a rapidly drying track on the track that remained treacherously slippery in some sections. Behind the scenes, discussions therefore arose as to when it would be possible to switch from intermediates to slicks.

The choice of Russell and Mercedes then allowed them to see what the lap times would be like. Russell continued to struggle for laps to set a good lap time, leading the formations to conclude that it was better to wait.

"The significant thing was that Russell’s sector times allowed everyone else to monitor exactly when the time for slicks would be," Hughes explained at Formula1.com. "Ten laps after his stop Russell was still 5s off the pace of the leaders. The way that deficit was split between the three sectors gave a stark picture of where the problem lay."