Wolff believes Russell deserved podium after last lap shunt

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff believes George Russell deserved a podium, after crashing out of the Singapore Grand Prix on the final lap.

Russell was chasing down Lando Norris in the closing stages of the race, when he clipped the wall at Turn 10 on the final lap and crashed out.

The shunt promoted team-mate Lewis Hamilton to the podium, but cost Mercedes valuable points to Ferrari who took the win with Carlos Sainz.

When asked about the closing stages, Wolff told Sky Sports: "Yeah super that Lewis was on the podium, also at the end he had pace. It's just a shame for George because he worked hard for that.

"Would have been a good third and fourth, lots of points, but now I guess we lost 22 against Ferrari."

Wolff: We couldn't win the race if we were static

Mercedes was the only team to gamble during the late Virtual Safety Car, with Ferrari and McLaren electing to keep its drivers out.

Wolff believed this was the best option to maximise Mercedes' points, after Russell asked how he could win the race over team radio.

"It was clear it was difficult to win the race if we were just static. I said: 'Let's go for it, the data is robust' and we went for it, but in the end, it was a podium for Lewis," said Wolff.

Singapore has been one of the only outlier tracks for Red Bull, whose 14-race win-streak in 2023 comes to an end with Sainz's victory.

But Wolff expects the team to bounce back at the next race in Suzuka: "We've had those outliers in Singapore over the years where we almost won every race and then we came here and it wasn't really good. So I expect them to be back."