Russell plans to take a grid penalty at the Las Vegas Grand Prix

George Russell plans to take a grid penalty at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with Mercedes expected to fit a new power-unit element to his car. The team had initially planned to introduce the part at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, where it expected to have an upgrade ready. But after reliability problems in Malaysia, the change now appears to have been pushed back by three races, to Las Vegas, from November 20 to 22.

Russell started from the back of the grid in Singapore after a power-unit change. He had retired late in the previous race in Malaysia following an engine problem. The driver said the team could choose when to take the penalty: “Now we have the choice to take it when we wish and we will choose slightly easier tracks [to overtake at].” He had also floated Las Vegas as an option: “It will probably be later in the season now to be honest - maybe Las Vegas. But it will be there at some point.”

Mercedes brought upgrades to Malaysia, but they did not deliver the immediate performance gains the team had expected. In Singapore, Russell therefore raced the pre-upgrade car, while Kimi Antonelli had the new version. Red Bull, with Max Verstappen, topped every competitive session of the Singapore Sprint weekend. Russell was leading the Sprint race before he crashed. Antonelli, meanwhile, finished on the podium after late overtakes on Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.

Russell has three wins this season, compared with Antonelli’s eight. The Briton said the priority was to improve the car: “The goal right now is to try to improve the car.” He also said Red Bull had been the best team in recent races. Antonelli described a weekend of progress and said Mercedes had gained a better understanding of how its new aerodynamic package works.

The engine upgrade is part of the opportunity granted to Mercedes through the FIA’s ADUO system, designed to improve engines. The governing body’s ranking of engine performance has prompted disagreement: Red Bull argues that Mercedes, which is dominating the Constructors’ Championship, already has the best power unit. The next stop on the calendar is the United States Grand Prix in Austin, from October 23 to 25, ahead of the Las Vegas event.