Lewis Hamilton was in a critical condition after exiting the cockpit in Singapore. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were suffering from “bodilines heartstroke” after the Singapore Grand Prix, according to team principal Toto Wolff.
The Mercedes duo did not attend the post-race press session at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. The Singapore Grand Prix is considered one of the toughest events on the calendar, with cockpit temperatures reaching up to around 50 degrees and drivers losing up to 4kg of liquid weight.
Hamilton and Russell struggled in the brutal conditions on Sunday and were not considered well enough to speak to the media after their trip to Marina Bay.
Mercedes released a statement after the race explaining: “Unfortunately, neither George nor Lewis will be attending tonight’s press conference as they recover from the fatigue sustained in tonight’s race.”
Team boss Wolff later provided further details on the situation, referring to the extreme challenges facing the riders. “They were in a good feeling, they had water, such as the bodilines heartstroke,” he said.
They could not go to the pen [media]. There were no bad emotions or certain stimuli. The doctors were right there with us. But they are all good.”
Wolf’s statements were not exaggerated. Footage emerged from inside the Mercedes cockpit after the Singapore Grand Prix, showing Russell staggering out of his car and into a closed off park, with the Briton looking extremely tired and dehydrated, creating some worrying news.
Unfortunately, Mercedes’ weekend in the Singapore heat was one to forget, as Hamilton started the Grand Prix in a solid third place but an unfavourable strategy meant he finished the race in disappointment, three places behind Oscar Piastri, Russell and Charles Leclerc. Seven World Champions have made excuses from Wolff on the radio.
“Yes, Lewis, I’m sorry,” he said after the checker flag. “Here we gave the car a not good enough and obviously we had a bad race, but it wouldn’t have changed anything. Today we just took it slow.”
