George Russell (9th): Battle with Hülkenberg, next penalty in Las Vegas?

No sooner had he served one engine penalty than the next one was already looming! Mercedes driver George Russell had to start the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix in 21st place because his team had to change the engine and use one more component than permitted. He did, at least, fight his way into the points, securing two points with a ninth-place finish. But now the Briton is facing yet another penalty.

How did this come about? It became clear quite early on to both Mercedes drivers that at least one engine penalty would be incurred in the second half of the season, because whilst the power unit is powerful, it is not particularly reliable. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli served his penalty at Monza, where he drove spectacularly from the back of the field to victory. George Russell had actually intended to wait to serve his penalty until the engine upgrade – made possible for Mercedes under the ADUO rule – was ready, thereby killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. However, he was forced to serve his penalty during the Singapore weekend after all, and still managed to fight his way up to ninth place. Because his engine blew up the previous week in Sepang, he had to have an engine of the old specification fitted in Singapore – and he will consequently have to accept a further grid penalty when the revised engine is fitted. It’s unfortunate timing – the new engine wasn’t ready when Russell needed it.

Russell on his next engine penalty

Russell said after the Singapore Grand Prix: “We now have the choice and can take it whenever we want.” Precisely because no engine failure is forcing him to do so. “We’ll choose a circuit where it’s easier to overtake than here in Singapore. We might look at Vegas, but it’ll definitely happen at some point.”

Will Antonelli clinch the F1 World Championship as early as Austin?

George Russell seems to be dogged by bad luck. As early as next race weekend in Austin, his dream of a first world championship could officially be over: that’s when his team-mate Kimi Antonelli will have his first opportunity to mathematically secure the title. Russell had, however, already written off the title back in September.

Red Bull Racing have caught up

Russell’s goal is therefore one for the team: “The aim is to try and improve the car. We’ve been pretty much the dominant team throughout the season, but if you look at the last few races, Red Bull Racing has had the edge. In Baku, Max Verstappen was just as fast as me. He’s dominated on completely different circuits over the last few weeks. So the aim as a team is to get the most out of these updates.” The Mercedes updates hadn’t worked in Sepang, and Russell was racing with old parts in Singapore.

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In the race, Russell moved up from 21st to 9th, but found himself struggling to get past Germany’s Nico Hülkenberg. Russell: “We made good progress in the first stint. In the second, however, we could have stayed out even longer thanks to the VSC. Nico then defended really strongly against me. I had trouble getting past him. Towards the end of the race, it simply wasn’t worth the risk anymore, so I just wanted to get the car home. Not a fantastic weekend; it’s a real shame.”