George Russell grid penalty gives Kimi Antonelli F1 title boost
Mercedes’ British driver to take power unit penalty in Singapore
Going into the Bahrain GP in Malaysia last weekend, Mercedes’ British driver George Russell was 66 points adrift of teammate Kimi Antonelli in the race for the drivers’ title. His retirement at Sepang helped Antonelli stretch his lead to 84 points.
And just when he must have thought things couldn’t get any worse, Russell will now be hit with a power unit penalty at this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix that could effectively hand the title to the 20-year-old Italian.
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"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," Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff announced Wednesday.
"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.”
Wolff added: "Malaysia was obviously a very difficult weekend for us. We have spent the days since then working hard to understand why our performance was not where it should have been."
Antonelli, who finished second in Malaysia, is now on the cusp of his first F1 title.
"The characteristics of the (Singapore) circuit are very different," Wolff said, "and that will help us build a clearer picture of where we are."
With 33 points up for grabs on a sprint weekend in Singapore, this could well be a make-or-break race for the 28-year-old driver.
