George Russell concluded the Singapore Grand Prix in ninth position, describing the weekend as the ‘story of the season’ for him. He started the race from P19 on the grid at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
The Mercedes driver incurred a grid penalty for exceeding the permitted number of power unit components. This component change followed a power unit failure that led to his retirement in the preceding Malaysian Grand Prix.
Russell’s challenging weekend began with a crash while leading the Sprint race. He took full responsibility for the incident, labeling it a ‘silly mistake’ caused by overconfidence and touching a white line in wet conditions.
He had started the Sprint from second place, having initially overtaken Max Verstappen for the lead. The incident forced an early end to his Sprint participation.
Mercedes implemented a split car specification strategy for the Singapore event. Russell utilized an older version of the W17 chassis, a package he previously used to secure a victory in Baku.
Conversely, his teammate Kimi Antonelli ran with the latest upgraded W17 specification. Russell himself initiated the decision to revert to the older car setup.
During the sole practice session (FP1), Russell demonstrated strong pace, topping the timesheets with his older-specification car.
In the Grand Prix, Russell’s strategy involved a long initial stint on medium tyres, anticipating a late safety car period. He aimed to then switch to soft tyres to gain positions.
A Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed when Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin stopped on track. Russell had just passed the pit entry, forcing him to complete an entire lap at reduced speed.
The VSC period concluded precisely as Russell entered the pits, negating any strategic advantage he might have gained. He rejoined the race in tenth position.
Despite his efforts, Russell was unable to overtake Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi for eighth place in the closing stages. He ultimately secured two points for his ninth-place finish.
Russell stated he would ‘not lose any sleep’ over the unfortunate VSC timing. He acknowledged the inherent difficulty of recovering from a back-of-grid start.
In contrast, teammate Kimi Antonelli secured a third-place podium finish in the Grand Prix. This result further extended Antonelli’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship standings.
Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin expressed the team’s confusion regarding the performance of the latest upgrades on Antonelli’s car. Antonelli also reported difficulties with the new package.
