Russell to Start Last in Singapore

George Russell of Mercedes will start Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix from the back of the grid, last in the starting order, his team confirmed on Wednesday, 7 October. The penalty follows the engine failure that ended his race in Malaysia last weekend, and ESPN called it another setback to his championship hopes (ESPN; Formula1.com).

Russell was running third with six laps left at the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was moved to Sepang in Malaysia this year, when his car's power unit, the engine and its electric hybrid parts, failed. He pulled to the side of the track while on course for a podium, a top-three finish. Formula1.com counts it as his third round of the season without points (ESPN; Formula1.com). Max Verstappen of Red Bull won the race from pole position, the first place on the starting grid, and Antonelli finished second, which stretched his lead over Russell in the drivers' championship to 84 points (Sky Sports).

The rules explain why one failure leads to a penalty a week later. Each driver is allowed four power units for the season (Sky Sports). ESPN reports that Russell does not have enough low-mileage engine parts left to avoid fitting a new power unit this weekend. That takes him over the limit, and the regulations punish each extra part with a grid penalty at the first event where it is used. Formula1.com says the drop is at least 10 places, and the more new parts a team fits, the bigger it gets; Mercedes says that, for Russell, it means a start from the back (Formula1.com; ESPN).

There is one piece of relief. Singapore is a Sprint weekend, meaning there is also a shorter race on Saturday with its own points, and the penalty applies only to Sunday's main race, not to the Sprint (Formula1.com; Sky Sports).

"George has the added challenge of a power unit penalty, which will mean starting from the back of the grid on Sunday, following the engine failure in Malaysia," the team principal Toto Wolff said in his preview. "That is particularly frustrating given the way he drove last weekend and the result he deserved to be fighting for. Unfortunately, these things are part of the sport and our focus now is on giving him the best possible car and opportunities to fight back through the field" (Mercedes via Formula1.com; ESPN).

The timing is the real problem for Mercedes. After reliability trouble earlier this year, the team was already planning to give Russell an extra power unit, and take the penalty, before the end of the season. It wanted that new unit to include an engine upgrade it is allowed to bring under a development scheme run by the FIA, the sport's governing body, and it expected to fit it at the United States Grand Prix later this month (ESPN; Formula1.com; Sky Sports). ESPN reports that Mercedes has not confirmed whether the upgrade can be brought forward to Singapore; Sky Sports says it is understood that it could be. Mercedes had not said which on Wednesday, so the question is still open. Mercedes deputy team principal Bradley Lord warned in Malaysia that Russell could face a "double whammy" if he then has to take a second penalty in the United States to get the upgraded engine (ESPN).

The place makes it harder still. Singapore's Marina Bay street circuit is narrow and lined by close walls, and it is one of the hardest places in Formula 1 to overtake (Formula1.com; Sky Sports; ESPN). The contrast is with Antonelli's engine penalty at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, one of the easiest tracks for passing, where he started 19th and won (Sky Sports; Formula1.com). Russell does have good memories of Singapore: he won there last year (Formula1.com).

Time is running short in the championship. Russell is second in the drivers' championship, 84 points behind his Mercedes teammate Antonelli, with seven rounds left: Singapore, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi (ESPN; Sky Sports). "Eighty-four points back, that is absolutely the final straw for this title bid," said Craig Slater of Sky Sports News (Sky Sports).

The Singapore Grand Prix starts at 8 p.m. local time on Sunday, 11 October, which is 8 a.m. ET (Formula1.com).

What a reader can take from Wednesday's news is that a race Russell did not finish will cost him twice. He lost a podium he was on course for in Malaysia, and now he starts last on one of the hardest tracks for overtaking, while his teammate leads the championship by 84 points.