Lewis Hamilton claims George Russell made a wrong pit call in Singapore GP, says he ‘would have stayed out’

Lewis Hamilton managed a podium finish at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Lewis Hamilton claims George Russell made a wrong pit call in Singapore GP, says he ‘would have stayed out’

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell (Via IMAGO)

The Singapore Grand Prix was one of the most entertaining races of the 2023 F1 season. It had everything a fan could ask for, and while Mercedes lost out on a potential win, Lewis Hamilton has claimed that his teammate, George Russell, made a wrong pit call decision by coming into the pits for an extra stop.

During the closing stages of the night race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, George Russell was running in the second position when Mercedes decided to bring both its cars into the pits. Russell agreed with the decision, and while he ultimately ended his race with a DNF, Lewis Hamilton feels he could have avoided the pit stop under the VSC incident.

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While sharing his thoughts at the end of the race, Hamilton said, as reported by RaceFans, “We needed to take the risk, have a shot at trying to get past some of these guys, and go for the win. I think we had a really good pace, I think the team did a great job. I don’t know, I think for George who was in second at the time, maybe if I was in his position.“

“I probably would have stayed out and at least kept the McLaren behind. But we gave it a shot and it was really fun to be hunting these guys down.” The 38-year-old veteran of the sport has made it clear that if he were in his teammate’s position during the dying stages of the race, he most probably would have preferred to stay out.

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Toto Wolff disagrees with Lewis Hamilton’s Singapore assessment

While Lewis Hamilton feels George Russell should not have come into the pits for an additional stop, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff does not agree with his driver. He genuinely believes bringing both cars into the pits under the virtual safety car was the right decision. He added, “It was absolutely the right call.“

Toto Wolff (Credits: Autosport)
Toto Wolff (Credits: Autosport)

“We would have finished P2, P5, maybe P2, P4 and we wanted to win the race.” The Brackley-based team is desperate to score a Grand Prix win at the pinnacle of motor racing and seeing how last weekend’s race developed, they felt that it was the right moment to gamble by putting on fresh tires.

While the Singapore GP has now become a thing of the past, the focus will shift to this week’s event at the free-flowing Suzuka International Racing Course. Mercedes had a strong outing at a tight and twisty Marina Bay Circuit, and considering everything, they would look to have another strong outing in Japan.

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