Mercedes has firmly dismissed any suggestions that they lacked presence to celebrate Lewis Hamilton’s podium finish at the F1 Singapore Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion secured third place, trailing Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and McLaren’s Lando Norris, after his Mercedes teammate George Russell, who had held P3, suffered a crash on the final lap.

Following the race, some fans took to social media to highlight what they saw as a lack of support for Hamilton, who was seen celebrating with Ferrari and McLaren mechanics in parc ferme. Follow your favourite F1 team with attractive F1 betting odds from Nextbet. 

Mercedes addressed this matter in their customary post-race debrief video, with technical director James Allison setting the record straight. He explained that certain members of the team remained in the garage to receive Russell’s car. Allison also pointed out that TV cameras missed capturing Mercedes’ crew in action as they were focused on Ferrari’s celebrations.

“I am going to have to disagree a little bit with the premise of the question,” Allison stated.

He emphasized, “Of course, the team was there at the podium to celebrate with Lewis. As many of the team as it was practical to get to the podium were there because we enjoy it. We love standing there and clapping and cheering for our driver.”

During the event, some team members had to stay in the garage to facilitate the retrieval of George Russell’s car, brought back by the marshals into the pit lane. Nonetheless, the rest of the team joined in at the podium, sharing in the celebration with Hamilton. Unfortunately, the TV cameras did not capture every moment, with the focus mainly on the jubilant Ferrari faces and the McLaren team’s joy.

In essence, Mercedes wanted to make it clear that they fully supported and celebrated Hamilton’s podium finish, even if the TV coverage didn’t capture every moment of their participation in the post-race festivities. Get the latest updates from the world of F1 only on Nextbet Sports.