George Russell admitted his own error caused his crash during the Singapore Grand Prix sprint race, which may have compromised his car's performance in qualifying. The Mercedes driver, who started from the front row, lost control on the exit of the final corner while leading, spinning into the wall and retiring. Despite showing strong pace in sprint qualifying, Russell could only manage sixth in main qualifying, which he attributed to his team hastily rebuilding his W17 after the crash.
Team principal Toto Wolff confirmed the car was finished at the last minute and suggested the floor may not be fully intact. With a power unit penalty from an earlier engine failure, Russell starts from the back of the grid. He expressed uncertainty about his race prospects, noting inconsistent recovery performances from grid penalties in previous races.
Source: Autosport F1 News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing