Russell had started from the pit lane after taking a new power unit under parc fermé, and in his attempt to regain ground he took an escape route after making contact with Valtteri Bottas and backed up.
Given that he was at the back of the pack, Russell agreed with the team’s suggestion to try the slicks, but it was immediately obvious that it was too early as he nearly went out at the first turn.
It was nowhere near the pace of all the other cars, but after making his choice he stuck to it and started to see an improvement in pace – which eventually prompted other teams to make the switch.
He lost more ground later in the race when a collision with Mick Schumacher caused a puncture and led to an additional stop. Russell eventually finished 14th, having set the fastest lap on his new tyres.
“Well, I was asking at the pits for a new round of inters,” Russell said when asked by Autosport about his early switch to slicks.
“And in this situation, I trust the team, the team trusts me, they thought it was time to go on slicks and try something.
“I was in a position where I just thought it was all screwed up, we have to do something. F1 is very frustrating when it’s like that. But out of so many races we’ve had this year – seventeen? Fifteen of them were very good. So we cannot succeed every time.
“There was a bit of confusion all over the place, to be honest. So in a race like this, when you’re in no man’s land, the tensions are high and you just have to try something.”
Russell said that as the race unfolded things came back to him: “Obviously at the time it was totally the wrong decision. But it paid dividends later down the line.
George Russell, Mercedes W13
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
“Because when we had that safety car and the restart, I passed three cars in one lap, and I was in 11th place before the incident with Mick.
“So it goes both ways. We had to try something. But I think we showed we were making a lot of progress. And that gives me optimism for the rest of the year.”
Russell was adamant there were positives to take from the weekend, saying Mercedes were at their “normal pace” after tough rounds at Spa and Monza.
“Well, I think first of all the confidence has been restored and we fixed the car today.
“And our normal pace was back. And we definitely had a car this weekend that was capable of winning. So that’s one thing ticked off, let’s say. And just a bit of a shame how this weekend went. unrolled.
“But that’s how F1 is sometimes. We’ve had such great form. And as a team I feel like we’ve been pretty flawless all season. But obviously this weekend -end, things went against us.”
Russell suggested that difficulty overtaking in Singapore contributed to his incidents.
“You have to be bold in these conditions. And without DRS, and on a circuit like this, these F1 cars are almost impossible to pass.
“I feel like F1 has something to learn on these kinds of circuits where the only overtaking opportunities are here, and in Barcelona the corners are too fast.
“You brake just after the 100-meter plank on that 90-degree left-hander. There’s enough space there to make it a tighter turn to get better runs, better passing.
“I jumped off our long way back. If it paid off, great, but it didn’t work out. But nonetheless, we caught it and two laps. It shows the pace where we had today .
