George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who suffered from what the team referred to as borderline heatstroke in Singapore, were both able to “bounce back relatively swiftly,” according to James Allison, technical director of Mercedes.
The two Silver Arrows drivers didn’t show up for their post-race media duties, suggesting that they were the ones most impacted by the Singaporean weather.
Mercedes provides George Russell and Lewis Hamilton with health updates.
Both Hamilton and Russell missed work to recuperate from what was described as mild heatstroke.
A representative announced on the night that “unfortunately, neither George nor Lewis will be attending the media pen this evening as they recover from the exertions of this evening’s race.” Toto Wolff subsequently stated that they suffered from “borderline heatstroke or something like that.”
Later, footage of Russell emerged on social media, capturing the Briton stumbling through parc ferme at the conclusion of the race.
The good news is that, according to Allison, they returned feeling well after a brief absence.
“Well, I believe that they share our frustration that the car wasn’t all that competitive in race trim,” he remarked. In qualifying, it went well, but not in race trim.
We once again experienced a problem that has plagued us: using softer rubber on courses where tire temperature is crucial and easily overheated, which makes us less competitive. Singapore is at the extreme end of that experience, and handling it proved to be quite challenging for them.
In addition, the air temperature was 30 degrees with 70% relative humidity, making the car extremely hot. By the end of the race, they were both experiencing the heat. You know, the part about the heat is what makes them feel so much better now.
“They recover fairly quickly from a cold ice bath and a few drinks, but the more important thing—caring about the speed of the car—causes the pain to last a little longer.”
After Hamilton recorded his 350th Formula One start, Allison also took the time to commend the driver in particular.
Lewis has had a career that, in my opinion, no other driver will ever be able to match, and it is especially amazing that he was able to accomplish it all with Mercedes engines, one engine supplier.
We are almost at the end of our journey with him, and each weekend is a significant occasion that we will never have again with Lewis.
“It’s unfortunate that the incident occurred during a weekend when the car was not as bright. Hopefully, we won’t have to go too far past the 350th; perhaps in a week or two, we can celebrate the 351st in Austin with more grandeur.”
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