Mercedes to split Russell and Antonelli’s car specifications in Singapore

Mercedes has decided that George Russell and Kimi Antonelli will race with different car specifications at the Singapore Grand Prix. Russell will use the older version, while Antonelli will run the upgraded package. The team is seeking to understand why the updates introduced in Malaysia did not produce the performance it had expected.

The split will remain in place throughout the Sprint weekend in Singapore. Russell will start Sunday’s Grand Prix from the back of the grid after an engine penalty following his car’s failure last Sunday. He will return to the older aerodynamic package, last used in Baku, while Antonelli keeps the package that made its difficult debut at Sepang.

For Russell, the decision also means a return to the specification with which he claimed an impressive victory in Azerbaijan, two races earlier. The Briton said he was the one who first suggested comparing the two versions. “Well, actually, I instigated the conversation prior to the race on Sunday,” he said. Once the failure occurred, he added, the choice became clear: the team had been weighing the two options equally before the race, but he had already been more in favour of making the switch.

Russell summed up his reaction to the Baku car by saying: “It is back!” He sees the Singapore weekend as an opportunity to compare the packages, while his engine penalty will limit his prospects in the main race. His hopes of fighting at the front are therefore expected to be focused on Saturday’s Sprint, while Antonelli can hope to contend for victory in both events at Marina Bay.

Russell also said Antonelli’s car would receive a front wing in Singapore that was originally meant to accompany the package introduced at Sepang. He hopes the part will help the upgrade work as expected, while acknowledging that a failure to do so would concern Mercedes. “We have a front wing this weekend that Kimi’s running that we didn’t have in Malaysia. The package was meant to come with the front wing — maybe that was a reason why it wasn’t working so well,” he said.

The aim is to separate the effect of the new specification from that of the missing front wing. Russell described Malaysia as the team’s worst weekend of the season for pace and qualifying result. He also said the power-unit failure had affected the outcome, but that it was not yet clear whether the difficulties were specific to Malaysia or related to the upgrades. Antonelli, too, framed the new front wing as a question to be answered: “I hope it makes the difference! That’s what we will try to answer.”

Russell will also have a fresh power unit throughout the weekend, but it will not include the ADUO (“Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities”) upgrade, which is not in Singapore. Mercedes had hoped to introduce that upgrade at the same time as a fifth engine of the season on Russell’s car, which triggers a penalty. That plan will no longer be possible.