Shaky George Russell moment emerges in untelevised footage after ‘borderline heatstroke’ in Singapore
George Russell has claimed two victories since joining Mercedes at the start of the 2022 season
Untelevised footage from the Singapore Grand Prix has uncovered the moment Mercedes driver George Russell staggered as he made his way through parc ferme at the end of the race.
Having locked out the second row of the grid, Russell and team-mate Lewis Hamilton endured a punishing race at Marina Bay as the Mercedes pair slipped to fourth and sixth at the chequered flag.
George Russell caught staggering after suffering ‘borderline heatstroke’ in Singapore
Neither Mercedes driver finished within a minute of race winner Lando Norris, who dominated from pole position to secure his third victory of the F1 2024 season to reduce Max Verstappen’s lead in the Drivers’ standings to 52 points with six races remaining.
Russell and Hamilton were excused from their post-race media duties, with a Mercedes statement on Sunday confirming the drivers were recovering “from the exertions of this evening’s race.”
Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team boss, later commented that the pair “did not feel well” and were suffering from “borderline heatstroke or something like that.”
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The team later posted a clip to social media of a Mercedes staff member delivering a plate of food to a smiling Russell and Hamilton in the team’s hospitality unit in the Marina Bay paddock.
Footage captured by the onboard camera of Valtteri Bottas’s Sauber at the end of the gruelling 62-lap race has revealed the moment Russell staggered through parc ferme at the end of the race, at one stage pausing to rest his hands on the tyres of Bottas’s car and the car parked to its left.
62 laps in a sauna but he survived it pic.twitter.com/KtbJIKbtsX
— h ⋆ (@russellius) September 22, 2024
Russell then shuffled forward a few yards before again resting his hand on the rear-left tyre of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, parked just ahead.
The Singapore Grand Prix is widely regarded as one of the most physically demanding events on the F1 calendar, with the race held in stifling conditions.
The 2024 edition was the fastest race in the history of the Singapore GP, which originally joined the calendar as F1’s first-ever night race in 2008, with Norris completing the race in an hour and 42 minutes due to the absence of Safety Car periods.
Driver welfare has been under the microscope since last year’s Qatar Grand Prix, where Williams driver Logan Sargeant withdrew after suffering heatstroke symptoms and Alpine driver Esteban Ocon vomited inside his helmet due to the conditions.
The FIA, F1’s governing body, responded to the concerns by approving so-called cooling scoops to be fitted to the cars for F1 2024 to help direct cool air into the cockpit.
Hamilton and Russell have both previously complained over team radio about a warm sensation emanating from their seats in the cockpit at various points during the F1 2024 season.
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