Russell ‘feels ready to fight for a championship’

After claiming a dominant victory at the Singapore Grand Prix, Mercedes driver George Russell declares that he is “feeling ready to fight for a championship.”

Following a triumph in Canada in June, Russell’s second victory of the season came on the same track where he had lost third place on the final lap while chasing a 2023 victory.

Lando Norris, who was third in McLaren’s championship, and championship leader Oscar Piastri, who was fourth, finished ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

“I am perfectly aware of what I need to do in particular circumstances.”

As you might expect, I was nervous before the race, but I didn’t experience any additional stress or nerves. I had a chance to win, and I was happy with that because it just felt like another race.

“I’ve been saying this for a while; I’m ready to fight for a championship. I’m prepared to proceed further.

Russell attributed his improvement to “experience, just knowing how to maximize every situation,” in his 2013 essay.

He continued, “I probably was driving a little more tense and probably over-pushing in circumstances when I shouldn’t have been.”

I just feel much more at ease right now. I felt at ease before today.

Mercedes’ victory in the Singaporean Grand Prix was “so unexpected,” he added, noting that their second-place position in the constructors’ championship was in danger of losing.

He stated, “We need to sit down tomorrow and Tuesday to sort of comprehend why the performance was so good.”

Verstappen and Russell shared the pole position, but the Dutchman believed he could have snagged a win if he had not collided with Lando Norris’ McLaren’s dirty air on the final lap and slid wide at the final chicane.

Verstappen’s choice to start the race with soft tyres helped Russell’s race victory.

Verstappen struggled to challenge Russell once he held the lead at the first corner. And he held back Norris’ McLaren for the remainder of the race, which appeared to have the pace to challenge Russell.

Russell’s contract expires at the end of the current season, and Verstappen’s future at Mercedes was uncertain earlier in the season as team principal Toto Wolff pursued him.

However, Wolff and Russell have consistently claimed that it was only a matter of time before Verstappen made a new commitment to Red Bull following the firing of former team principal Christian Horner.

A new contract is still being worked out by Russell and Wolff, but it is anticipated to come in the next few weeks and possibly even before the United States Grand Prix on October 17 and 19th.

After the race, Wolff declared, “He’s been formidable this year.” I’ve never seen mistakes. He himself claimed on weekends that the race wasn’t a good race and that he could have done more.

However, any driver can experience this. When it merges, the driver is top of things and the car is in a perfect position. That becomes the main ingredient, as we have seen in this example.