Lewis Hamilton and George Russell missed their post-race press duties in Singapore.
Lando Norris has hit back at Lewis Hamilton and George Russell missing their post-race press duties at the Singapore Grand Prix.
The Mercedes duo both suffered an apparent fear of health in the aftermath of the Sunday race at Marina Bay, which took place in the hot heat and humidity.
Hamilton started the Grand Prix in third place, but finally crossed the line in sixth after an erratic performance on the 62 laps.
His younger teammate used an alternative strategy to finish fourth, losing his place on the podium to Oscar Piastri, but both riders were unable to attend their mandatory post-race media appearances due to symptoms of heatstroke.
Silver Arrows issued a team statement to explain the situation.
“Unfortunately, Neither George nor Lewis will visit the pen in the media tonight.
The TOTO WOLF team will later rely on the pen media and explain: They could not go to the media pen. There was no anger or frustration, the doctors were just there for us. But we’re all fine.”
After a dominant performance that saw Norris hold off Max Verstappen to take the checkered flag, he then launched a fierce counterattack.
And he seemed annoyed at Wolff’s suggestion that his drivers were in a worse position than anyone else on the grid.
“Toto Wolff giving update on Hamilton and Russell’s health?” he thundered. “Fuck, it’s tough for everyone! Why do they think they have… Everyone has heatstroke if they have heatstroke?”
The upbeat comments follow Norris’s reduction of Verstappen’s lead in the drivers’ standings to 52 points. And with six grands prix remaining in 2024, a title race that once seemed a formality is now very much alive.
In his own post-race reaction, the McLaren man lauded the current performance of his car. And there was no mention of the conditions he was forced to race in, with the race getting underway in temperatures of around 30 degrees celsius.
“It was a wonderful race,” he said. “Too close calls. I had a couple of moments in the middle but I was well in control otherwise. The car was mega so I could push and we were flying the whole race.”