Martin Brundle predicts 30-year hurt for George Russell after Singapore error

Martin Brundle has suggested George Russell will still be feeling the pain decades from now after his error in Singapore cost him a potential win.

In his attempt to chase down Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz ahead, Russell clipped the wall and crashed into the barriers costing him not only a guaranteed podium but also a potential win.

Brundle has commented that he still thinks about some of his missed opportunities 30 years on and predicted Russell will have the same feeling.

George Russell needs to ‘park’ Singapore pain says Martin Brundle

Brundle was a big fan of the final phase of action in Singapore with the Mercedes pair on fresh tyres desperately trying to chase down the two front runners.

“Sainz and Norris tellingly only posted the seventh and eighth fastest laps of the race of 19 starters – the best part of two seconds slower than fastest man [Lewis] Hamilton followed by Russell,” he wrote in his Sky F1 column. “That pretty much sums up the race, especially the closing stages and the heroic defense by two ‘team-mates’ who were no longer in the same team. What a great story.

“Had Russell made it past Norris on his first attempt, I’m pretty sure he would have won the race. I’d mentioned in commentary earlier that you can get mesmerised when following closely on a street circuit, a kind of trance fixated on the rear wing and gearbox of the car in front of you. A driver must ensure their own housekeeping with the fundamentals of braking, car placement, and throttle application. The merest slip and you’re in the wall and that sadly is what happened to Russell.”

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While Brundle was never able to win a race, he certainly remembers the times he came close. Decades on from that, Brundle still feels the pain and suggested Russell may have a similar feeling in the future.

“I never managed to win an F1 race and never had a car capable of multiple wins, but on a couple of occasions I could have stolen victory but it went wrong for various reasons,” Brundle recalled. “Thirty years later it still hurts, as that race will for George. He already has one victory, he’ll get over it and his day will come but the pain will lurk and it somehow needs parking.

“Lando must have the same mind gremlins from the three potential race victories which escaped him in 2021, especially as he was so close to victory here in Singapore too. His day will surely come.”

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