Naomi Schiff questions Mercedes’ engine-penalty decision for George Russell

Naomi Schiff has questioned Mercedes’ decision to take an engine penalty for George Russell ahead of this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix. The former W Series driver, now a Sky Sports analyst, believes the Marina Bay Street Circuit is poorly suited to a charge from the back of the grid. An engine-allocation overrun means Russell is set to start near the back of the grid on Sunday.

The sprint race at the Singapore Grand Prix will add to the demands of the weekend: there will be only one practice session before sprint qualifying on Friday.

Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast, Schiff said Russell had used up his allocation of power units, leaving Mercedes to add an engine. “I’m kind of surprised that they’re taking it here,” she said. She wondered whether the team had a suitable spare engine within its allocation, and suggested other races might have been a better fit.

Schiff pointed to Austin, where the long straights seemed to her to offer better opportunities to overtake. She acknowledged, however, that Mercedes had made its decision and that the situation would be difficult for Russell, particularly when things had not really been going his way.