George Russell has accepted full responsibility for the mistake that ended his Singapore Grand Prix Sprint after just one lap, while Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli strengthened his Formula 1 championship lead and offered a more encouraging assessment of the team’s newer W17 aerodynamic package.
It was another sharply contrasting Sprint outcome for Mercedes, echoing what happened at Sepang. In Malaysia, George Russell retired with mechanical problems while Kimi Antonelli finished second. This time at Marina Bay, however, Russell’s zero was caused by his own error rather than a technical failure.
George Russell takes blame for Singapore Sprint crash
Starting second on the grid, George Russell got the better of Max Verstappen at the start on the wet Marina Bay circuit and immediately put himself in contention at the front.
His race ended moments later. Exiting the final corner, the Mercedes driver lost control of his W17 and hit the barriers, bringing his Sprint to an end after only one lap.
“It was simply a mistake on my part,” George Russell told Sky Sport F1. “I misjudged it. I came out of the corner at full throttle with more battery than I thought, so I went wide and got onto the white line.”
The incident was especially costly given that Russell had started from the front row after an impressive Sprint Qualifying performance. The British driver had been using Mercedes’ older aerodynamic configuration, which had produced a significantly stronger result than the newer specification fitted to Kimi Antonelli’s car.
Kimi Antonelli extends F1 championship lead to 89 points
Russell’s retirement also benefited his Mercedes teammate and main championship rival. Kimi Antonelli was running sixth until the closing stages of the Sprint before gaining another two positions following a dramatic collision between the two McLaren drivers.
The result increased Kimi Antonelli’s advantage at the top of the Formula 1 drivers’ standings to 89 points ahead of Grand Prix qualifying.
The championship picture is becoming increasingly difficult for George Russell, who had already acknowledged the scale of the challenge after Kimi Antonelli opened an 81-point advantage following Madrid.
Russell’s task in Singapore is made even harder by the power unit penalty awaiting him for Sunday’s Grand Prix, which will force him to start from the back of the grid regardless of his qualifying position.
Kimi Antonelli sees potential in new Mercedes W17 package
While Friday had produced a largely negative verdict on Mercedes’ newer aerodynamic package, Kimi Antonelli sounded more encouraged after the team studied the data overnight.
The championship leader had struggled badly with the specification during Sprint Qualifying, finishing seventh while George Russell secured second place with the older configuration. However, Antonelli said Mercedes had identified some interesting characteristics in the way the new package operates.
“After yesterday’s qualifying, we honestly saw some interesting things in the data, and let’s say the way the aerodynamics work is very different compared with the previous package,” Kimi Antonelli explained.
“With the balance, we are a little outside the window, but we hope to make changes that can help us, especially ahead of qualifying. Let’s say it hasn’t been an easy weekend so far because the balance has been complicated and also unpredictable, but I still think the package has potential.”
Mercedes plans major setup changes before qualifying
Kimi Antonelli believes the key challenge is finding the correct operating window so the revised aerodynamic package can work as intended.
“It’s just a question of finding the right window so that the aerodynamics can work in the right way. Now we’re going to make some fairly big setup changes, so I’ll immediately see from the first lap how it goes.”
“But if I feel good in the car, I’ll definitely try to do the best I can. In any case, I’ll try to do the best possible with what I have, and hopefully we can have a good qualifying.”
The development is significant for Mercedes because the Singapore weekend has effectively become a live comparison between two W17 specifications. Friday initially appeared to favour the older package decisively, but Antonelli’s latest comments suggest the newer version may have more performance available if the team can bring its balance into the correct window.
The challenge is magnified by Singapore’s compressed Sprint format, which gives teams little conventional practice time before competitive sessions. The 2026 event is the first Singapore Grand Prix to use the Sprint format, leaving engineers with fewer opportunities to refine setup around the demanding Marina Bay circuit.
For Russell, meanwhile, the focus shifts from the disappointment of the Sprint to recovering as much as possible over the rest of the weekend. For Antonelli, the priority is different: converting the encouraging signs in Mercedes’ data into a more predictable car while protecting an increasingly commanding championship advantage.
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