George Russell’s Title Hopes Take a Hit With Singapore Engine Penalty

As if the mishap in Sepang isn't enough, George Russell is set to take a hefty grid penalty in Singapore.

After suffering an engine failure towards the end of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, Russell's car will be fitted with a new engine. This will exceed his season allocation, which triggers a massive penalty that might force the Mercedes driver to start at the back of the grid.

Russell was in the running for a podium finish at the Sepang International Circuit when his Mercedes developed a power unit problem under the Safety Car late in the race. What hurt the most was that there were just five laps remaining in the race. 

Instead, the British driver left Sepang without scoring any points. He's still mathematically in the running for the championship, but it will be an insurmountable climb now. His championship deficit to teammate Kimi Antonelli has ballooned from 66 to 84 points.

This was not the first time that Russell encountered a car reliability issue this year. During the Canadian Grand Prix, he was leading the race when his WR17 came to a sudden halt due to battery failure.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was fuming mad after the race, saying that it was "one of his worst experiences." Mercedes also had problems during qualifying in Sepang, with Russell settling for P8. Fortunately, the two Mercedes drivers got off to a great start, forming a 1-2 at the top early, before Red Bull's Max Verstappen overtook them.

Antonelli still managed to secure a P2 finish, but Russell's DNF was a heartbreaker. As for the Teams' Standings, the lost points won't be as painful. Mercedes is still leading the Constructors' Championship by a sizable 151 points. 

When the WR17 is working reliably, it is still a fast, balanced car. We witnessed Antonelli start his home race in Monza from P19, and still win at the end. It was one of the most remarkable comebacks of the season.

But we couldn't expect Russell to come up with the same rescue in Singapore.

First of all, the Marina Bay circuit is walled-in, and the lap is long and physically brutal. If Russel is indeed starting at the back of the grid, he would run in the dirty air of slower cars for a long time, with few realistic overtaking zones. 

We would expect Mercedes to have Russell pit early for a potential undercut on the cars in front. Still, Russell would be hoping for chaos in front and to take advantage of a Safety Car to jump positions.