Russell denies Norris mistake caused wall tap

George Russell has denied that Lando Norris’ light wall tap resulted in his own excursion with the barrier on the last lap of the Singapore Grand Prix.

While chasing the leading duo of Carlos Sainz and Norris in the final tour of the Marina Bay Circuit, Russell hit the wall and sustained terminal damage to the car.

Moments before his own mistake, Norris hit the same wall with the right rear of his own car but managed to get away with a race-ending issue.

Speaking to media including RacingNews365, Russell denied that he was distracted by Norris’ moment which led to his own in-race downfall.

“It’s incredible how quickly the mind thinks because I saw Lando brush the wall,” he said.

“And in that split second I thought 'Oh, he’s just hit the wall.' And two-tenths of a second later I've hit it.

“It definitely wasn’t because of Lando’s brush that caught me off[guard]."

Russell comfortable despite pressure

Russell was enjoying a late-race surge after pitting for fresh Medium tyres.

Despite having to manage catching the cars ahead while also keeping teammate Lewis Hamilton behind, Russell says he was comfortable behind the wheel.

"I was knackered at the end of the race and I put everything on the line driving so hard," he said.

"It was difficult because I wanted to manage my tyres to make sure that I had the best possible tyres at the end of the race.

"That’s why I kept asking my team: 'Tell me the lap time that's going to get me to the front by the end of the race', because I don't want to push half a second a lap faster to then have no tyres left at the end.

“But the flip side I had Lewis behind me pushing everything. So there are a few things to counterbalance, but I felt confident and I felt good.

"Carlos played it strategically perfectly. Lando also did a great job. It could’ve been such a different result for such a small change with that overtake on Lando. It wasn’t meant to be.”