George Russell highlights perils of Singapore with illness admission

George Russell has conceded that had he fallen ill over the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, it probably would have prevented him from competing in the gruelling event.

The Yas Marina Street Circuit is widely considered the toughest test, both physically and mentally, on the F1 calendar, with the race reaching upwards of two hours in length and the tight nature of the twisty track.

This, coupled with the extreme heat and humidity, makes it a formidable challenge for F1 drivers, despite being highly-conditioned athletes.

Although Russell stormed up from fifth on the grid to claim second place in the recent Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the British driver was battling illness all weekend.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff confirmed it was touch and go as to whether the four-time grand prix winner would be in his W16 as usual on the Friday, with Valtteri Bottas waiting in the wings.

However, Russell, who missed media day on Thursday and many of his press duties across the weekend, persevered.

After his impressive drive to the podium, he reflected on being under the weather. Speaking to media, including RacingNews365, he said: "Well, fortunately, it was Baku.

"Even though it’s one of the toughest circuits, mentally and physically, it’s maybe one of the easiest. [On Sunday, I was] much better. Friday and Saturday, I was really rough.

"And had it been Singapore, as an example, I think I probably would have called it a day on Friday, to be honest, and probably wouldn’t have done the race.

"So, yeah, sort of fortunate timing. And I haven’t been ill for a couple of years, actually, so it just all sort of hit me at once these days, but I’m on the up now."

Such is the test of Singapore, it is not uncommon for drivers to lose around 5kg of weight during the grand prix in the Southeast Asian city-state. 

Last year, Russell and then-Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton both missed their post-race media obligations there, having overheated through the grand prix with extreme temperatures coming through the seats in the cockpits of their W15s.