George Russell believes he was “half a car’s length away” from claiming victory at Formula 1’s Singapore Grand Prix prior to his late accident.
Russell held second to Carlos Sainz after the round of pit stops but utilised the opportunity of a Virtual Safety Car period to undertake a second stop.
Russell re-emerged in fourth place but overhauled Charles Leclerc and was a couple of seconds a lap faster than lead pair Sainz and Lando Norris.
Russell ran side-by-side with Norris in an attempt to force a move but the McLaren driver stayed ahead and retained second position.
Russell continued to chase Norris but hit the entry wall of Turn 10 on the final lap and crashed out of the race.
“I think we were half a car’s length away from winning the race, had I been able to overtake Lando when I had that one opportunity because Carlos did such a great job of dictating the pace, giving Lando the DRS, that we couldn’t get the chance to overtake Lando,” said Russell.
“And then last lap, I don’t know what the hell happened there, just whether it was a lack of concentration, maybe frustration knowing that was our opportunity gone…
“A mistake of one or two centimeters has just put such a shadow on the whole weekend.
“The car was great, the strategy was bang on, we were aggressive, we were bold, and it was exciting. It was really exciting out there and it’s heartbreaking to be standing here with no points.
“It definitely sums up the season I’ve been having this year. There’s definitely positives to take away, but yeah, nothing more to say really.”
Russell emphasised that the aggressive strategy “was definitely worth it” as “I was willing to lose a position or two if it gave us half a chance of winning the race.
“We knew on the same strategy as Carlos we weren’t going to be able to overtake on track.
“We were bold, I was managing my tires as I was closing that gap because I knew I needed my tyres in the best state possible for those last five laps, and it was challenging because I had Lewis [Hamilton] behind who was definitely pushing harder than I was.”
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